The prince and the street rat
by mortal-paralight
Summary: Bella is an orphan living in the streets of Persia, stealing and fighting to live every day alongside her brother Emmett. Edward is the prince of Persia, royalty that has never left his castle before. But what happens when he sees Bella? ALL HUMAN! R&R!
1. Preface

**Alright guys, this is a new story that might resemble a little bit of Aladdin and Prince of Persia but it's different. And when I finish 'Tis Dark magic most foul' and 'I know what you are', then I will post the first chapter to this story. But for now, you get a preface of what the story will look like. So please READ AND REVIEW! **

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Preface

We were both from different worlds.

He was a prince and I was just a street rat, scum, trash… This man had everything he could ever want at the snap of his fingers while I had nothing. We were both just too different. And yet, everything seemed to fall into place. We were both perfect for one another. But… would it last? Would he see that I was just some common orphan that didn't belong anywhere but in the filthy Persian streets?

Part of my mind kept telling me that at some point, this perfect god would see through my obvious flaws and dump me back on the streets. We would just forget everything about me and return to his perfect fortress where he looked upon all of us common folk who could barely afford to buy an apple. The other part of me wished that our love would blossom even further, that we would look past the fact that he was a prince and I was a street rat. Part of me wished that this… this feeling I had towards him would grow and make my heart sore.

But sometimes, street rats can only wish…

**So what did you guys think? It'll be better, trust me. The first chapter will be started, again, after I finish writing the last two chapters of both stories but for now please, REVIEW! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this story.**

**Bellacullenswan17**

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	2. The day in the bazaar

**Alright so I've had a lot of trouble writing this first chapter and I wanted it to sound nice but I don't think I did that great of a job. Sorry for handing it in so late but I've been trying to finish it and it was quite hard getting the first chapter out. But here it is. So without further ado, READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 1

The day in the bazaar

**Bella****'s Point of View**

The streets were crowded, filled with small shops and nearby citizens. The warm sun pulsed around the busy village, making the sand burn between my toes. My heavy clothes made it even warmer, considering that practically every part of my skin was hidden. The streets, usually slightly overrun, were more crowded than usual. Were there more civilians in the city than usual? It nearly made me feel claustrophobic, not to mention the fact a shawl was wrapped around me face, only showing my brown eyes. Looking around the busy bazaar, I took in every small kiosk there, wondering to see what they sold today.

Some were selling fruits and vegetables, trying to earn a few coins for their families. Some sold clothing or jars of water collected from the small stream. Most of these sellers tried to trade their merchandise to the civilians for far more coins than it was worth but people needed to live. As for the faces around the bazaar, they were all weary, nearly all of them. The merchants were the only ones that weren't weary. Of course not, they needed to look convincing to be able to sell their merchandise to the 'simpleminded' peasants, like you and I.

Walking up close to one of the kiosks, my foot 'accidentally' tripped over the footing of the apple kiosk and made all the apples fall on the sand. The merchant looked at me petrified and angry. "My apologies sir," I said softly, kneeling down to begin picking up the apples.

"You better apologize! These are my best apples!" He bellowed, bending down and picking some of the apples that fell away from the kiosk. When the merchant didn't look, I snuck a few apples in my large one shoulder bag, placing it with the bread and other types of food I had stolen from the bazaar.

As you may have noticed, I am a thief. My brother and I need to steal to be able to live. Our parents died when we were simply children and we have had to take care of ourselves in a small hut, barely any furniture or blankets. We didn't live properly but, hey, it was life. There was nothing we could change about that factor.

The merchant seemed to have noticed what I had been doing and he grabbed my wrist, dragging me to my feet angrily. "You little thief! Give me back my apples before I call the guards!" He screamed in my face, his words spitting saliva in my face. A sense of disgust filled me and my mind kicked into escape mode.

In Persia, if you were caught stealing any sort of food or even anything in particular, they would cut off your right hand with their sharpened swords. I couldn't take that risk.

Using my hands defensively, I twisted my hand out of his and struck the bone of my palm into the merchant's chin, sending his head snapping backwards. My other hand, now turned into a fist, punched him in the stomach, making him double over and hearing a grunt or a groan—his words were muffled by his clothes when he doubled over—come from his mouth. When he wasn't able to see me, I took off running.

Unfortunately, most of the villagers around me in the market _had_ seen me and instantly began calling me a thief, attracting the attention of the guards around us. Luckily, there were only four of them around the market area that heard the screaming and began pursuing me.

Using my abilities to the fullest, my speed was quicker than the guards and it allowed me to run faster towards any wall in my reach. In front of me, there was a beige wall with wooden poles sticking out every five meters along the wall close to the roof. Picking up my speed, I ran full speed onto a wall, running along its wall and grabbed a pole with my right hand. Swinging myself vertically up, my feet landed on the next pole. Swinging the rest of my body upwards and letting go of the pole, I began jumping, one foot on each pole, having the guards run underneath me as I ran on the poles.

Once the poles came to an end, I jumped onto the roof and began running. Unfortunately, the guards found a way onto the roof and began running after me, screaming things such as 'Catch her and cut her hand off!' or 'Catch the street rat!' and even 'Catch her boys! The king will reward us for this!' Luckily, I didn't listen to any of them and just kept on running, my bag of apples against my chest. The roof ended and my legs squatted down and, with one push of my legs, my entire body jumped in the air and made the three feet gap between the two huts. The guards tried to make the jump but three quarters of them fell in between the gap and the other quarter tried hanging onto the railing with no such luck.

Landing on my knee, I straightened up and began running again, not tempting to be outrun or caught by the fallen guards in case they found me again. Luckily, they didn't.

After a few more minutes of running and leaping off buildings, I imagined that my surroundings were safe. Looking at my surroundings, my eyes detected no oncoming threats. Seeing that it was safe for the time being, I walked towards the edge of the hut and jumped off, landing gracefully on my feet. There was a small family of three huddled up in a dark corner near me, looking famished and watching their surroundings. They seemed so hungry… It looked like they hadn't fed in a few days. How could they live this way?

I already knew the answer to that question. Some families in this country could barely afford food and once they did collect a few coins, they had their children fed before themselves. Children always came first with parents… Wonder what that felt like. To have someone care for you the way a parent would. Or even have some nearby peasant give you something to help yourselves.

Looking down at my bag, I saw seven apples in my bag. Looking back towards the family, my mind took the decision for me. Walking slowly over to them, they looked up at me the minute I crouched in front of them. Smiling slightly, my hand went into my bag and collected three apples, one for each of them. Giving them the apples, a large smile formed on their faces as they took the fruit.

"Thank you miss!" A small child said and bit into the apple slightly, savouring the taste. It might be the last thing the child eats for a little while. The family began to eat and it was my cue to leave. Standing up straight, I nodded to them and smiled before walking away towards my secret hiding spot. Running up a wall, I leaped from it and grabbed the hold of the window of the house across the wall I had just leapt. Hauling myself through the window, I landed softly into the room, looking around.

"It took you long enough," A voice came from behind me.

Looking back, I was face to face with my brother, Emmett, who leant against the empty crumbling wall. My brother and I had been orphans for years and depended on one another too many times to count. Sometimes, it would get us in trouble with the guards but we always got out of it, one way or another. Every other day, it was his turn to bring the food. He wasn't as stealthy as me but he did get the job done and could bring in a few more items, seeing as he was well built and could carry more things than I ever could.

"Sorry, got held up by the guards. And that stupid merchant. He dared yell in front of everyone that I was a thief. Now I won't be able to go out for a while. You'll have to gather the food for a few days as things clear up," I declared, throwing him an apple from the bag against my chest. He caught it with ease with his hand and smirked at me.

"Bella, what _are_ we going to do with you?" He asked as I sat down beside him, removing the bag from across my shoulders, placing it on the floor before us and biting into an apple.

A smile formed on my lips against the apple and, when swallowing the bite, my eyes turned to him. He was still smirking, even though his face was quite filled with dirt. He had been fighting today. That was the only way to collect any coins. He fought in street battles and won most of them. His smile today told me that he had won his share of coins. "I don't know. What are we going to do with that messy face of yours?" I said, removing my shall across my head and using it to wipe the dirt off his face. Emmett was two years older than me and he always hated it when I treated him like my younger brother. But he would always tease me back. That was the way we had survived for all these years: hardly fighting and helping one another when dire times flew our way.

"Hey! You know I hate it when you do that," He said, placing an arm around my shoulders, bringing my head towards his chest and ruffling my hair with his free hand. Laughter escaped my mouth as I tried to fight him playfully but he was too strong. My head couldn't be removed.

"Emmett! Stop!" I laughed along with him and in a matter of seconds, he released me, taking another large bite of his apple.

My laughter turned into giggles as I looked out our second window. The sun was now setting slowly, turning the warm Persian afternoon into a slightly cold night. My expression became distant as I bit into my apple once more. My heart was never into stealing from others but it was the only way to survive. Emmett loved to fight and was proud of what he could earn by the end of the day but he knew I could never fight as well as him. I was more of a stealth woman than a hands-on-hands type.

I heard Emmett rummage through the bag and his voice rang in my ears when he spoke. "Bella, how come there is less of a load today as there usually is?" He asked curiously, making me face him for a second before slowly looking down. A groan escaped his lips. "Bella!"

"What? A family was just there! They looked so starved! You know how I am!"

"Bella, you need to think of yourself before others. You can't give everything you earn to others when you see them suffering," Emmett said, placing a large finger under my chin and gently making me face him. "It's every man for themselves. You need to think of your family before other families. I've told you that countless times."

"And I never listen. I know," I said, looking away from him sadly. He sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pressing me to his side. My head leant against his chest and we both sighed deeply. Looking at the night sky fall, we both ate our apples in silence, thinking of what the next day would bring us.

When nightfall came, we huddled into the corner of the empty room and placed our blankets around each other, keeping us slightly warm in this cold temperature. Emmett lay beside me in his own makeshift bed and smiled slightly. His head rested against a folded blanket used as a pillow. It was the only thing we could find to keep our head rested at night. Our eyes met and we both looked thoughtful.

"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" He asked me, nearly reading my mind. My dream was to live as a princess in a castle where I could help others with my fortune. My dream included my brother as a prince and myself as a princess. But luck wasn't on our side. It was never on our side. We lived as 'street rats' as the guards would call us, nothing more. It would always be like this. Nothing would change it. Sighing, I nodded and he softly stroked my arm that lay on my makeshift 'pillow'. "You deserve a lot more than this life Bella."

"So do you Emmett," I said, yawning as the events of the day finally took its toll on my body.

"Get some rest, princess," Emmett said, stroking my hair softly before closing his eyes, placing his hand close to mine. Looking at him sleep, he looked like an angel. He deserved more than this life as well. Anyone in this city did. But there wasn't much anyone could do to change their lives. Not even us.

"Goodnight, my prince," I whispered to Emmett before looking outside into the starry night. Many stars shone and illuminated the city. My eyes fell on one and immediately, my eyes closed, granting my wish for the day. _Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. I wish to have this wish tonight. _I thought before looking back at the star. It became a daily routine to wish upon a star, making the same wish as usual. _I wish we could live differently, in a palace where we wouldn't live as street rats. We would live as kings and queens, _was my last thought before falling into a deep slumber, imagining Emmett and I as royals, living with servants and much food at our disposal.

We wouldn't have to steal to live. We wouldn't have to live in rooms that could fall apart under us in our sleep. We wouldn't have to stay out in the sun with barely any water or food. We would be able to live freely and happily.

_Stay light, star bright, I wish to have this wish tonight. _

**Alright so what did you guys think for a first chapter? Is it a good chapter? A bad one? If it is a bad one, I'll improve in the next chapter don't worry. But please tell me in some REVIEWS! **

**Bellacullenswan17**

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	3. The mysterious stranger

**Alright so here's another chapter. I hope you guys like it. It includes a certain someone. Find out when you guys READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 2

The mysterious stranger

**Bella****'s Point of View**

The days went by and Emmett was forced to go and buy our food supply. I tried to stay inconspicuous in the streets but it was quite hard. Practically every corner I turned, a guard would pass by and in an instant, my body would be hidden in the shadows, waiting for him to pass by. It was a difficulty getting through the streets but, thanks to Emmett, we were able to survive for the next few days as the excitement seemed to die down after nearly a week.

The morning of the eight day, Emmett and I woke up to the Persian sun shining in our faces from the large nearly broken window. My eyes squinted to the light, as it did every morning, and yawned but clearly not as loudly as Emmett. He was always the loudest one in the morning and it always made me laugh.

"Morning sleepy head," I said with a warm smile plastered on my lips. Emmett grinned at me and stood up, stretching his massive body.

"Morning sunshine. How'd you sleep?"

Shrugging, my eyes darted to him and smiled slightly. "Same as usual, uneasily. You?" His look told me he didn't like the fact that we didn't have enough money to pay for a mattress or something softer than the hard floor. Emmett didn't answer my question and looked at me worriedly. Sighing, my voice was reassuring when looking at him. "Emmett, it's fine. We've been living like this for years. We all adapt."

"Yeah but you shouldn't like this sis. It's not right. We should be able to afford living somewhere nice or be able to buy some sort of furniture!"

"I know Emmett but we'll get there someday. I promise you that one day, we will live in a nice hut or in a palace," I told him, standing up and locking eyes with him.

Emmett looked at me for a few seconds, then sighed and brought me into his embrace. "How come you seem to be taking one of me? Aren't I supposed to be the older sibling?" That made me chuckle. Even in dire times, Emmett always seemed to be able to say something to lighten the mood. "We'll make it someday Bell."

Nodding, we separated and smiled at one another. The sun began to rise higher in the horizon and the markets would soon open. "Well, time for us to do our thing," I said, my small smile plastered on my face still. Emmett nodded and began climbing out of the room, climbing down the wall and running into the street to find a fight. I was always afraid that he would get hurt but at the end of the day, he always returned safe and sound.

Backing up to the far end of the room, my body faced the window with the small ramp leaning against the windowsill. With one swift motion, my legs began pushing into a sprint and I ran onto the rail and when there was no more room to run, my legs crouched and I jumped, catching the edge of the roof of a hut four feet away. Pulling myself up, my whole body was on the roof and the moment my feet were firmly planted on the roof, I began running towards the market in hopes of catching a few good things today.

One at the market, it wasn't as populated as most days but it was still full. And there were merchants of all kinds today, even jewellery. Taking even a golden bracelet would afford us a bed like we wanted in the small room. It was perfect.

My lucky day.

Slipping through two huts, I placed my shawl around my face and walked into the slightly busy market. It had been a few days since my last theft and not one merchant seemed to remember my eyes—since it was the only thing they had seen that day—which was a good thing. Passing by the merchant for the apples, he was bargaining with a lady, giving me an opportunity to discreetly place two apples in my bag without anyone knowing.

Along the way, towards the jewellery booth, a woman began speaking with the merchant about the price of a certain necklace. This seemed just too easy of a picking. Along the way, I had been able to pick pocket a few coins off a merchant and take a few bananas. Now, all that was needed was to grab the jewellery and the day would be complete.

But knowing my luck, there would be trouble soon.

Approaching the booth normally, I began looking through the jewellery, seeming interested in the merchandise. The merchant began making his way towards me but out of nowhere, a large bang was heard close by, grabbing the merchant's attention. It was a good distraction but who had done it? Nevertheless, my hand reached towards a magnificent golden necklace and my fingers wound around it, quickly pulling it into my bag and walking away.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough.

The merchant saw my actions and began screaming: "Hey! Someone grab her! She's stealing my jewellery!"

And that's when the chase began.

The guards heard the merchant's cries and began running in my direction. My legs began pushing against the hard sand and my speed gave me an advantage over the guards once again. Running at a very quick speed, they tried their best to catch up to me but just when I'd thought they had fallen behind, a _swoosh_ sound was heard and a sharp pain erupted in my right arm, causing me to slow down slightly. An arrow. They had a crossbow in hand. Not good. I would need to get to higher ground.

Running against a wall, my left hand grabbed a wooden pillar and my legs swung up in the air, swinging on the pillar. My body propelled itself in the air and landed on a roof in a tuck-and-roll. Cradling my right arm to my chest, I tried running as quickly as possible. The guards continued to try and shot me but with no avail. I was just too quick for them.

Suddenly, the roof came to an end and there wasn't a hut anywhere near it. There was no other means of escape. I would be forced to jump. So, my legs crouched and, with a strong leap from the ledge, I did another tuck-and-roll and returned to running, even thought that last leap had affected my legs slightly.

Turning my head around slightly, the guards were close on my tail, their arrows all wasted but were brandishing their swords around as they ran. Even as I ran, they were catching up. This was not good.

But out of nowhere, a thick rope attached to a spinning katana was launched from the alley we'd just passed and stuck into the wall to my left just behind me. The guards slammed into the rope hanging nearly three feet in the air and slammed on their backs against the ground. What has just happened? Who saved me?

Suddenly, a man dressed in a white robe and a small white turban stepped out of the shadows and looked shocked at the guards then directed his emerald green eyes at my still form. It looked like he hadn't even intended to save me, more like it was an accident. But it didn't matter to me. I was transfixed in his beautiful eyes… Those bottomless empty… empty? Why would they be empty? But suddenly, as we looked into each other's eyes, something changed in his green orbs. His eyes seemed to change in a positive way. But just as I was about to examine what that change was, the guards began to groggily wake up. The stranger looked at them then back at me.

"Run!" His beautiful angelic voice rang and there was no hesitation in my movements. I began running again, took the extremely long way back to our hut, and avoided al of the guards.

Emmett was pacing when I crawled into the hut with one arm. When seeing me, he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god they didn't get you. I thought my distraction would have saved you but I was worried when you didn't come back," He said with a slight smile.

"That was you…? The bang …? Sorry…" I began, panting for breath since I'd been running so much. "They nearly did but—" My sentence was cut short by a small cry of pain when trying to take the bag off my shoulders. The arrow was still plunged into the upper part of my right arm and gave me great pain at the moment. Emmett rushed over to me and his hands hovered near the arrow.

"They shot you?" He asked worriedly and shocked.

"Sorry… I couldn't outrun them that quickly… I didn't expect them to have arrows…" Emmett's hand closed around the arrow and a small cry escaped my lips again, making me close my eyes in pain. In one swift motion, Emmett took the arrow out of my arm and a scream this time escaped my lips. The minute the arrow was out, my blood began to flow down my arm, staining my clothes. Emmett lifted my sleeve carefully and wrapped the wound in a torn cloth, possibly from a shirt or a drape lying around our hut. "I'm sorry Em… I should have been more—"

"Stop it. You have nothing to apologize for. This is not your fault, alright?" He said, looking me in the eyes after fastening the cloth around the wound. He brought me in his arms, being very careful not to hurt my arm and kissed my forehead, not minding the sweat that formed on my brow. "I'm just happy you're alright sis."

"I'm sorry I worried you Em. It won't happen again."

"It better not or you're going to have to deal with me," He said jokingly, ruffling my hair slightly after pulling back the shawl that covered my face and hair.

"Well, I think I'm going to be inaugurated once you see what I caught today," A small smile slipped onto my face when seeing his genuine curiosity. He helped me open the bag and I took the apples, bananas and finally the necklace that was still intact. Emmett's eyes went wide and he looked at it delicately. "Do I get some brownie points for getting that plus a few coins?" I asked while showing him the coins as well. His eyes went wide and a large smile formed itself on his face.

"You get much better than that Bella. You're gonna get a bed!" He exclaimed, picking me up softly and spinning me around the small room. We both laughed and examined my findings until late in the night. Emmett had asked what had happened back in town and I'd explained everything right up to where the beautiful green eyes man showed up and saved me.

The idea of the stranger still dazzled me. That must have been the most handsome man I'd ever seen in my life. But a man like that would never go for someone like me, a street rat. It was always good to fantasize about these sorts of things. Never going to get disappointed if we all just fantasize. That was my philosophy. And it was included with this man, whoever he may be.

But even through the night, I couldn't stop thinking about that beautiful and mysterious stranger. Who was he?

**Alright so who's the stranger? What will happen to Bella and Emmett now? Find out in the next chapter when I get some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

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	4. Those brown eyes

**Ok, so I know I haven't updated in so long and I'm terribly sorry. I've been caught up in exams and I'm still in them until the 20****th**** of June so please, forgive me for no replies. I've also had trouble with this chapter, figuring out what I could do with this. But here it is, a month late and I'm REALLY sorry for that and I know it's short but I promise to make it longer next time. So please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 3

Those brown eyes

**Edward****'s Point of View**

That woman with the brown eyes… She'd been so amazing and beautiful. It was almost shocking. But just as soon as the woman had run away, the guards began to stand up shakily, still slightly bewildered at the new turn of events. They hadn't expected me to magically stop them from chasing after the mysterious girl. The guards looked at me and were about to seize me when they noticed who it was, they stopped and began to bow.

"Your majesty," Some of the guards said when bowing. Raising my hand slightly in the air, they stood up properly and placed a fisted hand upon their chest in a sign of respect and loyalty.

"My apologies in stopping your chase. I was simply practicing," I answered, hoping to keep it simple. My hobby was dart throwing, or knife throwing in this case. My brother and I had been trying to best one another for years and the best place to practice was in the real world: out here in the streets.

"It's perfectly alright your highness. But it may be best if we brought you back to the castle. It's not safe in these parts of the streets," A guard said and unfortunately, they would be stubborn enough to bring me back to the castle and to my father. They knew I wouldn't command them unless necessary. In my mind, even as future king, it didn't seem right to command others against their wills. But… I knew that in the future, there would come a time when I would be forced to start commanding them, maybe in a gentle way but still command them.

Nodding, the guards stuck close to me as we made our way back to the palace. It seemed unfair that all my life, everyone made me stay in the palace, like a prisoner. But one day, I would rule this entire kingdom. What would stop me from going out into town for a few hours when I would be king? Nothing. But as a prince, everyone can stop me, even the guards.

Sighing, we arrived at the palace in no time whatsoever. Frankly, the guards and I weren't that far off from the palace in the beginning and so, our journey back was short. "Here we are, your highness," One of the guards said as they bowed and left me in front of the castle gates alone. Rolling my eyes, I walked inside and walked past more guards. They infested the palace. My parents don't want anything horrible to happen, always precautions. Unnecessary precautions. But we are a large family: a mother, father, two brothers and a sister. Quite the large family if you asked me.

While walking, a certain voice echoed through the hallway. "Hello brother."

Turning around, a silhouette walked out of the shadows of the pillars and approached me softly. The man had golden honey blond hair, a muscular tall form with stunning emerald green eyes, just like me. "Jasper, I didn't see you there," I said, looking my brother straight in the eyes. Jasper was slightly taller than me, a nice 6'3". It made him look much superior than myself.

He looked me over, looked back at me and sighed. "You must stop this."

"Stop what exactly?"

"This… this method of fighting that you seem to be attached to these days. Going outside the palace walls is dangerous and you seem to be seeking danger. Edward, what would father say if he heard what you do in your past time?" Jasper asked, never removing his gaze from mine. He had known about my knife throwing for a while but never seemed to have brought it up until this moment. My brother was more the quiet type, staying with his wife Alice and reading in the study half of the time. But he was quite the sneaky one, always suspecting. Jasper always asked me questions when I tried to leave the palace to practice and normally would talk me out of leaving, which wasn't practical for me. "Brother, if you feel the need to express yourself in this practice, why not do so in the family gym? It's inside the walls and better for your protection," Jasper explained.

Sighing, I began walking away from my brother but only to have him follow me in the end. "Jasper, you need to get out more. Being encaged in this palace is not good for you. Or any of us. You simply go out when we ride our horses with father. But we don't see all that much. Simply some guards since the villagers are mostly in their huts. There's life outside these walls that we're not aware of," I explained, looking down at the knives in my hand. When looking at these, the image of the woman being chased entered my mind. Those eyes… those beautiful brown orbs were absolutely beautiful. "There are people out there… Actual people."

"Why must you seek this sort of life brother? What did you gain by going today? Just a sunburn and…" He saw my expression and seemed to understand something. My brother was, in fact, too smart for his own good. "What have you seen today, dear brother?"

"A woman… she was being chased by the guards. A thief." My brother tsked me but it only made me roll my eyes at him. "I'm serious. I might have just seen her eyes but they seemed to compassionate... but also lost, as if something was missing in her life," I explained, still looking down at my knives.

"That's normally why thieves are created. They're missing a part of their lives and they try to find themselves by stealing from others."

"But she wasn't like that. It didn't look like she wanted to steal, much less be followed by guards constantly."

"Edward, you saw her for a few minutes, if not seconds. How could you have seen so much of her in simply a few seconds?" Jasper asked.

Sighing, I said: "I don't know Jasper. But… all I know is that that woman is something special…" Jasper did have a point. This woman was simply some random woman who was being chased by guards. Why was I becoming so attached to someone that just passed by me? Maybe it was simply that I had been in the sun too long. That must be it. A good night's rest will do me some good. "I must be imagining things then…"

"Get some rest brother. I'll inform father that our afternoon ride will simply be the two of us. You can rest," Jasper answered, placing a hand on my shoulder. Looking into his eyes, he nodded and kept his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you brother. Tell father I'm sorry and to have a good time this afternoon during the ride," I said before walking towards my room slowly. Passing through the halls, the sun was setting, its redness absolutely beautiful as it shined dimly upon the Persian sands. There was life out of these walls and we were all cooped up here. How was that right? Of course princes and princesses needed more protection but… it wasn't right to be stuck here, which is why I snuck out every day to practice in the city.

Arriving in my vast room, I walked lazily over to the large bed and flopped onto it upon my back. Staring up at the ceiling, those brown eyes kept popping into my mind. This woman… who was she? Our paths would probably never cross again. Why was I so attracted to her already? It should not matter. She's in the past now. I need to move forward, my thoughts away from those brown eyes… those mysteriously beautiful brown eyes…

Sighing, my body turned sideways and my eyes closed. But behind my eyelids, her hidden face came back to me.

Those brown eyes…

**Ok, REALLY not my best work and I had a lot of trouble figuring out what I could write for an Edward scene but here it is… I'll make a longer chapter for you all after my exams, I PROMISE! But please, for now, REVIEW!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

5


	5. Caught

**Alright so I have a break during my exams so I wrote this chapter for you guys to make up for before. It's a little rushed at the end and I'm sorry but it basically shows what I wanted to write for this chapter. So please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 4

Caught

**Bella****'s Point of View**

It's been a week since the guards chased me and that beautiful man saved me. But during that week, my health seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. A fever had sprung on me after a few days and my wound brought pain every once in a while to my system. Today, my body felt weak and the fever hit even harder than the previous day.

I lay under the sheet panting when suddenly, Emmett's hand was pressed softly against my shoulder. "Bells? How you feeling?" He asked softly, kneeling beside me. Opening my eyes slowly and only slightly, my tired eyes met Emmett's. He brought a small canteen of water to my lips and stroked my hair as I drank. A cough escaped my lips when finishing and Emmett stroked my hair worriedly. "God Bells… You sound horrible."

"I feel horrible… This wound is killing me… literally…"

"You're not gonna die honey. You'll be just fine. I'll take care of you," Emmett promised as he rubbed soothing circles on my good arm, trying to help the moment. But he was just as worried as I was about dying… What if this wound _did_ take my life? Emmett would be alone in this world, having to deal with all of this by himself. It wouldn't be right, which is why I had to keep fighting against this wound, although it was taking a toll on my system. "Mind if I look at the wound honey?" Nodding slowly, he moved my collar slightly to the right and saw the taped up wound. His motion made me wince in pain and he seemed to cringe at the sound.

"Sorry…" was my weak response as he checked the gauze and looked under it to check the wound.

"Stop apologizing Bella. This isn't your fault…" Emmett said while changing the gauze painfully—although I'm sure he was trying to be as gentle as possible—and applied a cold cloth to my forehead, trying to help. But seeing as my fever never left, the simple blanket covering me didn't help me at all. Being poor and technically without a home was horrible… even now. "This looks bad… I don't know how long I can keep changing the tape without help…"

"No one can help us…" I panted, trying to get up but Emmett pushed be back down softly.

"Bella, you are NOT leaving this spot. You haven't been well enough since you got this wound and I haven't let you leave so I'm not leaving you now when you can barely keep your eyes open. So, you need to stay here Bella," Emmett said while placing his sheet on top of mine, trying to keep me warm enough to bring the fever down. It was true. The symptoms had started appearing the minute I came back and Emmett took the arrow out. We had noticed that the tip of the arrow had been rusted, making my blood infected. The fever had slowly kicked in during the first night and the wound had begun to bleed green and red. Emmett had taken care of getting the money and buying the food and now, we only had a small sum of coins left to buy anything since there weren't many residents out for Emmett to fight. Wasn't great for the both of us, that's for sure. "Please Bella, just let me take care of you."

"We don't have much time left Emmett… it's eating at me quickly…" I told him honestly. Looking him in the eyes, his fear shined strongly. He was afraid of losing me, his only family left. "Don't worry Em… I'll pull through this…"

"I hope you do Bells. Can't lose you. You're my own family left," He said before kissing my forehead softly and smiling reassuringly at me. "Don't worry Bells, we're gonna get you fixed in no time. I'm gonna go try to beat the crap outta some kids and get some information on where to find a doc and I'll be right back alright? You just rest." And with that, he ran towards the window, dropped out of view and probably began running towards the busy streets.

While I was running out of time.

Who knows if I'd be dead by the time Emmett came back? At the rate my body was giving out, it wouldn't take long before my wound would kill me, maybe in a few minutes or hours but soon, that's for sure. I needed that medicine _now_ before it was too late.

Looking around the room slowly, my eyes detected the pouch of money Emmett had forgotten to bring with him, probably considering that I was staying here. Standing up painfully, my right arm was cradled against my chest and my left hand was against the wall, balancing myself. My vision blurred slightly but it didn't stop me from limping over to the pouch, taking it shakily and placing it under my robes. My hand went shakily to my hood and I placed it over my head, ready to go out into the streets in hopes of finding some medicine.

Even against his wishes, Emmett wouldn't be quick enough to save me. And so I had to do this on my own, although it would probably lead to my death faster. Limping to the window, I climbed out and fell onto the pile of hay on the ground. Hissing at the pain through my arm, I slowly got out of the hay and repositioned the hood on my head, trying to hide my face in darkness as much as possible. Cradling my arm to my chest again, my body sagged with weakness while standing up. Shaking the weakness off, I limped towards the market, leaning against the walls heavily to support myself.

The streets were packed once again. Many citizens were walking along, minding their own business while others were purchasing their food or house supplies. But there didn't seem to be a doctor in sight. Great… More digging for me to do and not a lot of time. All this movement was taking a large toll on me. Panting, I limped towards the crowd but something seemed to grab everyone's attention. Some bumped into me and even in my right arm, making me scream out in pain. There were so many people that were backing up that my hood accidentally fell off my head.

Suddenly, my eyes widened at the sight in front of me.

Several guards marched under the archway, swords at their waist and a hand on their weapon. But what followed them was the shocking part. Three men on horses followed the guards, slowly and steadily. The king was at the lead of the three horsemen and the two princes followed, his two sons.

One of them was the mysterious stranger.

His bronze hair flowed in the slight wind and he looked around, eyeing the king and what I assumed was his brother riding beside him. His green eyes surveyed the marketplace, looking for some excitement to start probably. But then, his beautiful emerald eyes fell upon me. He froze and so did his horse. We stared at one another, just locking gazes. He was as beautiful as the first time we had met a few days ago. His beautiful body… His eyes... everything. But he was a _prince_. A PRINCE! I knew it would be too good to be true…

"Those brown eyes…" His lips said as the prince continued to look at me. His brother seemed to have caught onto what _he_ was saying and looked around, finally landing on me. The prince with the blond curls looked me over and realization seemed to enter his eyes.

"The thief…" _His_ brother said, making the guards look around and finally land upon me. Oh no…

My eyes widened and my legs responded faster than my brain ever could. I tried running but my legs weren't fast enough. Citizens kept getting in my way and the guards were approaching me quickly. My wound also made running practically impossible. Once the citizens were out of my reach, I tried running quicker but the guards came at me from all sides, grabbing both of my wrists behind my back and pinning me to the floor. A large scream erupted from my lips as they pressed against my wounded right arm.

They tied my wrists together behind my back with a thick rope and lifted me to my feet by the back of my robe, choking me. So much pain erupted in my upper body as they dragged me to the king, placing the tip of their sword against my neck. Gritting my teeth against the pain, they stopped a few feet in front of the king and pressed the sword against my neck even more, nearly drawing blood.

"My lord, shall we take the life of this thief?" The guard holding me asked the king. The king, with his collar-length blond hair, tall figure and blue eyes, stared me down, his mind wondering what to do.

Just before the king began speaking, _he_ interrupted him abruptly. "Father, maybe it would be best if we simply locked her in the dungeon. The less blood loss, the better, isn't that right Father?" He asked, making his father turn his attention to _him_. Both father and son locked gazes and the king turned his attention back to me.

Sighing, the king said: "I suppose my son is right. The less blood shed, the better. Bring her to the palace." He turned his attention back to his sons and said: "I suppose our ride will be cut short. I'm sorry sons." Both sons nodded and the guards, the princes, the king and I began walking towards the castle.

As we walked, my eyes fell upon the small figure of my brother, standing in the distance. His eyes widened when he saw the guards take me away and he wanted to come and save me. But my tired eyes told him otherwise. He knew that there would be no way to save me and himself. It was one or the other and I would happily let Emmett live and sacrifice myself for his safety. Em wasn't too happy about this decision but he did try his best to contain himself from acting out.

This would be the last time I would see him, probably for the rest of my short life. My eyes only portrayed sisterly love for him as the guards took me away forcefully, making me sometimes cry in pain as the injury to my right arm flared in pain.

_I'm sorry Emmett… _

**Emmett's Point of View**

They were taking my baby sister away and there was nothing I could do. Why didn't she just listen to me? If she had stayed in the cabin, then this wouldn't be happening. But… her condition was bad. She probably wanted to save me some trouble and go out to find the medicine herself, which led to this. God… why didn't I stay beside her and make sure she was getting the proper treatment by her side? There had to be something I could do. But what…?

_Don't worry Bella. I'll find a way to save you. I promise._

**Edward's Point of View**

She looked ill and we were taking her away to a cold and damp dungeon. But… I'd seen her again, but not in good circumstances. Maybe there was something I could do to help her. There had to be… I couldn't let her be killed by my father's guards.

I was reunited with those brown eyes… just not in the way I wanted to be.

**Alright so again, I know it's rushed but here it is. It's not like some people thought it would so I hope it wasn't a disappointment for anyone. It'll get better, trust me. So please REVIEW!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

7


	6. The dungeon

**Alright so I've got a small break during my exams and figured I'd send you guys a chapter before I finish my last exam on Monday. Hopefully you guys will like this, since you guys seem to like the rest of the story. So, without further ado, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 5

The dungeon

**Bella****'s Point of View**

They had taken me to the castle and straight down to the dungeon, roughly I must say. My vision blurred from time to time and the fact that they pushed against my wounded arm didn't help in the least. Once arriving in the damp and dark dungeon, they threw me in one of the cells and chained me to the wall by my wrists above my head. A cry of pain escaped once they began attaching the shackles to my wrists. My right arm was in large pain but they wouldn't see me cry. They left soon after chaining me and locked the gate closed, making me stay seated upon the cold floor with my hands above my head.

"Why did I leave the house…?" I asked weakly to myself as my eyes closed weakly and my breathing became wheezy.

Panting, I let the cold feeling try and diminish the pain but that never happened. Emmett must be devastated right now, seeing his little sister being taken away by the guards, maybe never to return. At this rate, he wouldn't see me. My wound was getting worse as the day went by. The only indication proving that it was still day in this cell was the small window nearly ten feet above me. Some of the light shined in through the window but it showed that the sun was setting. And Emmett would be alone in this world… I didn't have the strength to try and escape and my vision and strength was fading quickly.

And to think that that mysterious stranger was a _prince_… the prince who took me away and locked me up. I knew it was too good to be true. He brought me down to this cell to die, literally. It wasn't just the cold that was affecting me but also the fact that there was no medicine around to help my wound. And so I would die, quickly and painfully. That was the circle of life apparently.

But I wouldn't be reborn…

**Edward's Point of View**

That woman… it was her and we had brought her down to the dungeon to basically die. But… it had to be done. She was a criminal and the law must be enforced. It was normal to bring thieves and criminals to the dungeon for their execution or 'do their time'. Sitting in the garden, I kept rethinking about the guards dragging the mysterious woman away, their swords to her throat and her hands tied behind her back.

Just as the sun began shining against the water of the fountain in front of me, Jasper walked casually from the hallway and began his walk towards me. Looking at him confused, he began speaking. "She's quite the handful, that prisoner of yours."

"My prisoner, brother?" I asked, still confused. Father might have accepted to keep her prisoner but she was not _my_ prisoner… right? "And what are you implying?"

"The guards have been down in the dungeon for over an hour, trying to obtain information from her but she hasn't spoken a word since we took her away. She simply looks at them, silent."

"Something must be wrong. Have you tried yourself to talk to her?" I asked, looking him in the eyes. He nodded and made me sigh, standing up and standing in front of him. "What would you like me to do brother?"

"Well, considering she is your prisoner and Father let you keep her down in the dungeon, it may be best if you talk to her, seeing as you are quite fond of her, even after simply one small meeting," Jasper suggested, looking to my right after his speech. Alice, his wife, had begun running towards us when stepping into the garden then skipped over to Jasper and stood to his left, smiling up at her husband.

"Hello Edward," Alice said casually and happily, leaning into Jasper's side as she smiles at me, then at Jasper.

Nodding with a smile at Alice, Jasper smiled back to his wife, wrapped a soft arm around her tiny waist and looked back at me. "Your prisoner does look unwell, quite weak I might add. Watch out for that as well, brother."

Nodding, I walked past the two of them and walked slowly through the halls and walking down to the dungeon. Guards stood at the entrance and bowed once I passed them silently. Walking slowly to the cell where _she_ was being held, a guard bowed at me and looked me in the eyes. "Your majesty, what might you be doing down here, if you don't mind me asking sir?"

"I need to see the prisoner," was my simple answer. The guard looked hesitant but nodded and unlocked the cell without another word. He opened the cell and let me in without a single word. Walking inside, the guard shut the door slowly behind me and my eyes went to the small frail woman sitting on the floor, panting and chained. She looked so weak… Sweat was forming on her brow and her eyes were closed, her arms limp against the chains. "My lord…" I whispered under my breath but she seemed to have heard that. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked at me with half opened beautiful brown orbs.

"You…" She croaked, barely above a whisper. Crouching before her to meet her eyes, she panted horribly. What was wrong with her?

"What's your name?" I asked softly, hoping that her single word would spring up a conversation. But she simply looked at me, her expression weak and exhausted. Maybe she didn't hear me… since she didn't answer for a while. "What's your name?"

"I… heard you… the first time…" She responded weakly, closing her eyes slowly and, what seemed to be, painfully.

"Are you alright?"

"What's it to you…?" She asked, opening her eyes again, staring me down, as weak as she was. This woman was quite stubborn, even in the position and condition she was in. But… her condition worried me. As my green eyes looked her over, her right arm seemed to sag slightly more than her left against the chains. Was something wrong with her right arm? Moving my hand towards her arm, this woman jerked backwards, hitting the wall and whimpering slightly. My movements stopped and my eyes just stared at her. "What… are you doing…?"

"You must be injured. Your right arm is sagging more than the other one. Were you injured?" I asked softly, simply trying to talk to her.

It seemed as though she wanted to talk to me most of all than the others. She was more open to me… Looking at her now, the guards had removed her hood and her face shined in the dim light. Her pale complexion was worrying and her skin seemed to sink into her bones—probably due to food deprivation—but she was… beautiful. Her brown eyes shined, even though her eyes were nearly shut with exhaustion, in the dim light coming from the small window many feet above. Her hair, brown with small red tinges in it, glowed with its own light, as if she was her own sun of hope and dreams. Why was I so into this woman, this thief and this prisoner? I barely knew her. I _didn't_ know her.

But… I wanted to… I think?

She looked at me for a long time and, after a while, said: "Yes…"

"May I look at your wound?" I asked softly, my hands an inch above her right arm. My mind told me to take the pain away for her, to make her suffering go away. But another part of me told me that she was a stranger and a thief, someone who was a prisoner and nothing more. I just wanted, for the time being, to listen to the part of my mind who wanted to help her. The woman looked at me and sighed. "Please?"

She nodded slowly, after a few seconds of deliberation and I moved my hands slowly to her shawl and began slowly bringing it down her arm. She winced slightly as my fingers moved slowly down her skin to feel a piece of wet gauze on her right upper arm. Moving the cotton away from her skin, my eyes scanned the wound. The white gauze was tainted red and green, showing that her wound was indeed infected. Images of the guards handling her back in the town square flashed through my mind… They were making her condition worse. She must have been hurt beforehand. Sweat still poured down her forehead as her wound hurt her even more. This needed to be fixed.

But she was a prisoner. Didn't prisoners rot here, in a dungeon to serve for their crimes? Could I really let this woman stay injured and let her suffering continue as her life slowly passed away? No. That just wasn't a possibility, not until I knew my true feelings for her. Father would certainly lecture me for this but this was my decision.

My fingers slowly unwound from her shawl and her breathing became more laboured, worrying me even more. Standing up, I looked at the guard at the gate and said: "Guard, please fetch me the shaman. I'll need his medicine right away for this young woman." I could somehow feel this woman's eyes open in shock and stare at my back. Frankly, so did the guard.

"But… your majesty…"

"Now. There is no time to waste. Fetch me the shaman immediately, please," I said, slightly louder than before and the guard bowed before running off towards the entrance of the dungeon. Turning my attention back to the woman, she _was_ staring at me in disbelief. She had a reason, of course. Who would do something like this for her, especially a prince such as myself? Probably no one. Crouching in front of her again, we simply stared to one another, trying to decipher each other's motives and plans. "You will be cured in no time. We have the best shaman in all the lands."

"Why… are you helping… me…?" She asked weakly, still gazing me down.

"Would you like me not to and let you suffer as you are?"

"You're a prince… I'm… nothing… I'm… supposed to… rot here… Die here… because… of this wound… Why are… you helping… me…?" She asked in between pants.

"I might be a prince but I am certainly not heartless. And… I don't know. I simply want to help you. That's all," I said, straightening myself and laying against the wall, looking at her. In a few moments, the shaman appeared with the guard beside her and walked over to me, shaking my hand and kissing it—still not used to that part after all these years of being a prince—before walking over and kneeling by the chained woman. He began treating her with his remedies but she looked at me through the entire process.

As the shaman worked, it seemed as though my presence wasn't required. Walking slowly out of the room, her voice rang through the room before the guard opened the door for me. She simply said one word but it was enough to make me freeze and stare in marvel at the gate in front of me.

"Bella…" She said weakly as the shaman worked on tending to her wound.

_Bella… What a beautiful name,_ was my only thought before walking out of the room without another word. Bella. That name rang in my mind for the rest of the day.

Bella.

**Alright so what did you guys think? Good? Bad? Let me know in some REVIEWS please!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

7


	7. Like father, like son

**Alright so I finished my exams so here's the next chapter:D I'm hoping you guys will like it so, without further ado, READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 6

Like father, like son

**Bella****'s Point of View**

He helped me. I wasn't expecting that. At all. It did show that he had a heart. As the shaman nursed my wound, many thoughts kept occurring in my mind. The prince helped me. The fact that he wanted to heal my wound showed something. Of course, maybe _he_ wanted to simply just heal me so he could execute me himself. But it didn't look that way… His eyes didn't show any hurt or wanting to hurt. It was more like a shine of wanting to help and nothing more. There must be something about him…

The shaman helped me and told the guard to lengthen the chain on my right arm and the shaman wrapped my arm in a sling, helping the recovery. As soon as the shaman left the cell, my eyes closed and a small smile was placed on my lips. I thought I was going to die from this wound while rotting here. But now I was simply going to rot here and wait until my execution would come to view. But that still made me smile. At least it would be at his hands… maybe.

Giving him my name was simple. It felt easy. But… it could also be used against me later on. That would be horrible… Frankly, what would be so bad about this? There was nothing that I valued… except Emmett. How was he holding up right now? Emmett must be devastated to know that his baby sister was rotting in a dungeon. Em knew that I wouldn't be getting out of here alive. But there was one good thing that would come out of this sentence: at least this sentence would give me time. Time to think of what my life was like, my incredible relation with my brother, time with _him_.

It would let me find out what kind of god he truly is…

**Edward's Point of View**

Walking out of the cell, it felt as though led had been pressed against my heart for some reason. Her name… Bella. That angelic name was the only thing that went through my mind. That, and her face, her eyes… Alright so simply everything about her ran through my mind. Her soft voice—weak as it might have been—her beautiful brown orbs, that wonderful complexion of hers… just _everything_.

I had to see her again.

But… if I went down to visit her once more, the others would be suspicious. It would be simple it if were just Jasper and I here but Father might already be suspicious. Since we brought her from the market down to the dungeon, he eyed me in a confused matter, wondering what was going through my mind at the time. But I couldn't have told him—or anyone for that matter—that my attraction towards Bella was simply more than prince and prisoner. Father could never find out.

"Edward," a voice came at me from the halls. Turning around, my eyes fell upon my father, his collar-length blond hair, tall figure and blue eyes, walking slowly towards me. His gaze locked onto mine and never left it.

"Yes Father?" I asked softly as he walked up to me, standing in front of me. He stared me down and tried to understand my motives, which is what he has been trying to do since we arrived.

"How is the prisoner?" He asked, avoiding the subject for now. Father was an open book. Mother liked that quality in him but sometimes, it frustrated us children of the castle. If Father was upset or angry at one of us, it was seen on his features. Honestly, he was hardly upset or angry. If he was, his compassion and soft nature took over moments later and he was back to being a natural father. But, like any other father, he is very suspicious and it shows. "Has she said anything?"

"No… only her name. I was planning on visiting her soon, to try and obtain more information from her than simply that," I explained, looking my father in the eyes. He nodded and began walking, indicating for me to follow him.

"Edward, it got me wondering. It occurred to me that you seem to have a certain… attraction to this prisoner, am I correct? Otherwise, you would have let the guards behave the way they did back in the market," Father said, looking at me from time to time as we walked side by side. How could he have known so easily? Father was never one to see these types of things. Maybe someone informed him of my… affection towards Bella. Jasper? Would not be surprising…

Sighing, I said: "Does everyone know? Jasper has said the same thing…"

"Has he now? In fact, Alice and I walked by one another one day, began discussing things and the subject of you and the prisoner—"

"Bella."

"_Bella_, my apologies. She said Jasper had talked to you before about this situation," Father said with a slight smile.

"Remind me to confront Jasper later on…" I muttered to myself while looking in front of me, still walking alongside Father. Why did Jasper have to tell Alice anything? He could have kept it a secret like a good brother.

"He was simply trying to help you Edward. Maybe talking to his wife was not the best solution but he was simply trying. Have you, in fact, found an interest in this young woman?" Father asked, his soothing voice warming my heart, as it always did. He simply had this influence that made everything seem right.

"I… I'm not sure. How can someone find himself attracted to someone by simply looking at them for the first time?" I asked, looking Father in the eyes. Suddenly, a small smile seemed to have formed on his face and his eyes became distant, as if he was reminiscing a certain event. "Father?"

"Have I ever told you how your mother and I first met?" He asked, turning his smiling visage towards me. Shaking my head, Father motioned for me to sit and so, we stopped walking and sat down on the small bench near the open wall, illuminating the setting sun's rays upon our faces softly. Looking at Father, he looked at me and began telling his tale. "Back when I was a small lad, your mother was weaving yarn to make a parka. I had been playing with some other boys in the area and we'd been looking at one another when the ball we had been playing with hits me in the temple, causing me to fall to the ground. But do you know what happened?" Shaking my head, he continued. "She ran over to me and began tending to me. We had only seen each other for the first time but your mother's compassion and love for others stepped in and she tended to my small bump on my head.

"Even though we had simply seen each other for the first time that day, she had wanted to help me. And that was how our relationship began. Every day, we had tried seeing one another during the night or simply while we were both playing and working. And as the years rolled by, our relationship developed and one day, I asked her to be my wife. My mother and father seemed against it but they let me live my own life in the end with the woman I love. Even now, our love is still strong and neither of us wants separation from one another," Father explained with the same smile plastered on his compassionate face.

"All of this simply happened by love at first sight?"

"Yes, simply love at first sight. It seems to be the case for you and your prisoner, Bella. How have you two met exactly?"

"I was out in the city…" Father looked at me with a disappointing look but it was suddenly replaced with a curious look, as he wanted to know more about our first meeting. "And she was running away from some guards who had been chasing her. Unfortunately, I intercepted their pursuit and, when doing so, we just… looked at one another. She had been wounded, the same wound that she must have at this moment—not to worry, I called the shaman and he helped her." Father nodded and urged me to continue. "But… When we looked at one another, it was as if something changed in me. Also, the way she looked, it was maddening. Bella looked so… sad, so empty. Like her life needed… more. More of everything. But the guards began waking up and, in my heart, I didn't want her to get caught. So I told her to run and she did. That was the last I had seen of her until we had caught her in the market today," I explained, never letting go of Father's gaze.

He smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, shaking it slightly and softly. "Son, your attraction to Bella is the same as your mother and mine's. And, if you truly feel strongly towards this woman, then I suggest you find every mean possible to keep this relation strong."

"But she's a thief and I'm a prince."

"Do titles really matter in the situation of love?"

"Shouldn't it?"

"Not if you truly like her."

"I'm not sure how I feel about her, Father," I said, looking down at my lap. "How can I be sure about how I feel if she's a thief, a prisoner in my own domain?"

"Then I suggest you talk to her once again, try to obtain some information about her and her motives. If she truly does steal for her own pleasure, then that should be an indication to you that her place in this world is not for the good reasons. If not, then act as you wish. Your mother and I support you one hundred step of the way," Father said with a smile and looked at the setting sun. "I should go to your mother now. She will be quite worried about my slight leave." Standing up, Father looked down at me and smiled slightly but softly. "Think about what you want Edward. This is your life to live." And he walked away, his smile still on his wise face.

His words rang in my head. _This is your life to live_. Would he want me to live with Bella? Would he want me without her? What exactly do _I _want?

He was right. This was _my_ life and no one else's. I had one life to live. And if learning more about Bella was the key to my happiness, then visiting her one more time would determine everything.

Tomorrow, I would visit her once more. _Bella…_

**Alright, so what did you think of Carlisle and Edward's talk? What did you think of Esme and Carlisle's first meeting? I thought it was a little romantic so I put it in there. Now, for the next chapter, I won't post until I get 100 reviews. Now, I know you guys like this story so I know you can do it:D I believe in you guys to give me 100 reviews:D So please REVIEW!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

6


	8. Second visit

**Alright so I finished my exams AND PASSED so I am going to write more. And here's a long chapter for you guys, like I promised since you guys gave me more than 100 reviews!:D You guys are awesome! So PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 7

Second visit

**Edward****'s Point of View**

My night was restless. Images of Bella and her beautiful face ran through my mind as the night grew. Her amazing visage kept appearing in my mind, us together and simply talking. But it still made me restless. I knew that it was simply a dream, not reality. In the middle of the night, my eyes opened slowly and, for a few seconds, my dream Bella waved in front of my eyes before my vision adjusted to the darkness around me. Her image was gone the moment I woke up… But she was in the dungeon, probably in the cold. There was nothing I could do at this moment.

Closing my eyes, slumber did not invade me. Instead of attempting to sleep some more, I swung my legs out of the large bed, grabbed a robe and walked towards the door, heading into the large and slightly chilly hallways. Walking along, my eyes reverted to the moon, shining in the beautifully starry sky.

My thoughts roamed to what Father had told me simply a few hours before. His relationship with Mother had started the same way as Bella and I. It was incredible… I never realized that we had so much in common. The first thought that crossed my mind when Father brought up our conversation was that he would reject my love for Bella, as faint as it was at this moment in time. But maybe Father was right. Maybe my love for her would grow, depending on her motives.

But… even if her motives were for the wrong cause, would it change my feelings for her? It didn't feel like her motives would change the way my heart felt towards her.

Sitting down upon the bench near the wall, my eyes never left the moon up high in the sky. In a few hours, I would go down to the dungeon and we would talk… hopefully. Jasper informed me that she hadn't talked to any of the guards. But she had talked to me, if only for a short amount of time and words. I don't believe the guards will attempt to obtain information from Bella. She would simply have to talk to me.

"Unable to sleep I see brother?" Jasper asked, coming into view. Turning back towards him, his pulsing green eyes shined in the moonlight as he walked towards me. Sitting beside me, I nodded and he looked at the moonlight as well.

"What has made you stay up tonight, big brother?" I asked, looking at him.

"Sometimes, I like to take a night stroll when everyone's asleep. It seems as though the madness of the streets and the castle quiets at night. It helps to think clearly," Jasper responded, looking at me slowly. "Alice attempts to cleanse me with her presence but it works best at night when everyone is fast asleep…"

Nodding, Father's conversation came back to mind and something came back to me instantaneously. "Speaking of Alice, Father informed me that she told him about my attraction towards Bella. Did you tell her?" I asked but received a confused look from my brother.

"Bella?"

"The prisoner?"

"Ah yes, so you were able to obtain information from her. At least you attained her name. And yes, I spoke to Alice about this. She believed it was quite romantic. Unfortunately, my opinion on the matter is wavering at the moment."

"How so?"

"You are falling in love with the most wanted prisoner. She's a thief Edward. A common thief. Your reputation is at stake, brother. How would it look upon the citizens and mostly upon Mother and Father if you fell in love with the most wanted prisoner?" Jasper asked, staring me down. But that was where he was missing out…

"Father has already given me his trust. He told me today that he and Mother will support me throughout any decision I make regarding this matter," I said, earning a disbelief regard from Jasper. He looked back at the moon and turned his attention back to me momentarily.

"I see… He would like to have his son fancy a common thief…"

"Jasper, it isn't the case. I am going to visit her when the sun rises and try to learn more about her and her motives for her thefts. Father believes that my heart will follow her motives but…" My sentence wavered and my eyes fell upon the brick wall.

"But?"

"But I feel as though my heart will like her, even if her motives are for the wrong reasons. She… she just pulls me towards her, like magnets. Jasper, my mind cannot stop thinking about her. My thoughts are simply about her since the moment my eyes met her in the market and we took her away. She might be a common thief but she does have a heart. And, of the few moments we have spoke together, she appears to be a good soul. You could learn to like her if I do ever decide on what will happen to her," I said to him, looking him directly in the face.

"That all depends. We shall see… But tell me brother, what do you plan on doing once you see her motives for stealing?" Jasper asked, his gaze falling upon me once again. Sighing, my own eyes looked at the moon and my mind ran once again with questions. What _would_ I do? Of course, it was simply reckless behaviour to want to be with her but… after discussing with her, what would I do about this situation? Leave her in the dungeon? No… that didn't seem right in the least. But what other option was there? Set her free? Then she would go back to stealing for a living. And we would be right back to where we are now. But… what if there was a way to be able to keep her prisoner but let her have some freedom as well? "Brother?" Jasper asked, seeing as his question came unanswered.

Looking back at my older brother, his gaze never wavered from mine. "I'm unable to answer that at the moment… Because I won't know until I do it," was my simple answer. Jasper looked at me solemnly for a few moments before nodding and turning his attention back to the moon.

Our conversation quieted to nonexistence until Jasper stood up, looked down at me and said: "Before the sun rises, I will meet Alice for a few moments of sleep. Shall you go back to your own quarters or will you stay here and think some more?"

"I'll stay here for a few moments still," I said and he nodded, walking back towards his and Alice's room. Sometimes, it was nice talking to Jasper but most of the time, he made it very clear how he felt about things, such as this. He even explained how he felt about her. What would he do if I did decide to give Bella her freedom? Would he think any less of me? Maybe. But at least Father gave me his blessing… in a way.

Sitting there for a few more minutes, my mind decided it was time to return to bed for what little night there was left and so, walking towards my quarters, thoughts of Bella still ran through me. But it was always in a good way. For now… it was all that kept me from madness. Thinking about what her future will hold kept me sane.

Her future was in my hands.

After nearly an hour of restless sleep, I got dressed and decided to visit Bella, to give my mind ease and peace for the time being.

Entering the dungeon, the guard nodded once again, never spoke a word this time and simply opened the door willingly for me to enter. Bella was seated upon the cold ground, her eyes looking up at the small window above us. Her arm seemed to have been wrapped in a gauze along with a sling to hang from and her skin had seemed to regain some of her colour. She seemed even more beautiful now… Maybe she needed a good night's rest. Her skin seemed less moist than yesterday and her gorgeous brown orbs seemed livelier now… but only slightly. There was still something missing. Maybe more than just one.

When walking in the cell, she spotted me and remained quiet for a few moments. Of course I would have to be the one to speak first… "Good morning," I replied calmly, walking steadily over to her. She nodded and looked at me, never removing her gaze from my form. Bella was quieter today, for some reason. Why was that? "How was your sleep? Did the shaman help your wound?"

"Why are you so willing to help me?" She asked, completely avoiding my questions. It did catch me off guard but it wasn't a question that I was unable to answer at the moment… Well, truthfully, it was a little hard to answer. My feelings for her were still wavering and my mind wasn't working at its best right now. Thoughts of her still ran in my mind and an affirmative answer wasn't fully placed in my mind.

"Is it wrong to want to help others?"

"Not when those 'others' are thieves such as myself."

"Should it matter if you are a thief or not?"

"To a prince, yes."

Sighing, I crouched in front of her, simply looking at her with calm and soft eyes. "I am not here because of my title. I simply am here to talk to you. I want to be reassured that you are, in fact, alright. Also, I would like to ask you a few questions, if it's not too much trouble," I said, my gaze never wavering from hers.

"The same questions as your guards?" Bella asked in return, her gaze seeming to turn cold now.

"We are simply curious about you, that's all. We're simply wondering why you choose to steal the way you do. Is it because you need a 'thrill' in your life? Or is it something else entirely?" She looked away from me but her expression had changed at my words.

"Like you'd ever understand. You have everything you would ever need in life. You can't understand what it's like…" She said, her voice embedded with sadness and grief. There was a deeper meaning to her words, that much was true. "You'd never understand…"

"Try me."

Bella looked at me for a moment with slight surprise and returned her gaze away from mine. "How do I know that what I will tell you, you won't simply run off and tell the king?"

"Your secrets are safe with me, Bella. I won't tell a soul about your motives," I said, my words embedded with a secret promise. She could confide in me as long as she wanted. I would listen and never say a word to anyone. Bella could count on me.

Bella sighed before continuing her tale. "We can't afford anything… We sleep on the hard and dirty old floor with a simple blanket to keep us warm. We always have to steal to earn anything. I don't like it but it… it has to be done. We can't keep living like this… All I ever wanted was to be free from all of this: the stealing, the living in broken homes… everything. It's like that everywhere in the city. People without food or shelter. If I come across them, I hand them some of my food gatherings and help them for the day but… it's not enough. For anyone…" She gave to others… Even if she would starve from lack of stolen food, Bella still gave to those less fortunate than her. Bella had a heart. And it warmed mine to hear this.

"You seem to reffer yourself in the plural form. Does that mean that you live with more than one person…?" I asked, trying to seem calm and soft in my speaking matter. Bella looked at me and bit her lip nervously. It was adorable to see it in action. Her beautiful lips… Bella hesitated before nodded slightly. She was hesitant in giving out this information, anyone could see it. "Would you mind telling me who? It's perfectly alright if you don't. You're perfectly entitled to your secrets," I reassured, seeming to ease her mind when saying so. I simply wanted her to trust me, that was all. And it seemed to work at the moment… I did say at the moment.

"My brother… He's always been there for me. And I'm… I mean I was always there for him…" Her gaze lowered to her lap. Bella was sad. She missed her brother. Being locked away from everything didn't seem to ease her mind at all. Anyone could see that she cared more about her brother's well being than her own. And being away from him, it seemed to take a toll on Bella. "And he's…" Bella shook her head and looked at me. "We're very close."

"Did you act alone when stealing?" Bella nodded slightly. "I see… was that hard on you? To act alone?"

"I didn't truly act alone. My brother fought to earn some money while I was out stealing… Neither of us liked the idea of stealing from others but we had to. It was the only way to live. As I said, you wouldn't understand. You have everything you ever want, _prince_," Bella responded, calm in the beginning of cold in the end.

Shaking my head, a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. "Please, call me Edward. There should not be any formalities between the two of us. We're simply two people talking."

"Correction, you're gathering information while I spill my guts out," She retorted, cutting a very small knife in my heart.

"I told you, I'm not here to take information from you." It was a small lie but, in fact, it was information to base my decision on. At this point, we could finish this discussion and my heart would tell her to let her be free. "I like talking to you Bella. It's a fact that I want you to be able to understand." It showed that Bella wanted to say something else but refrained herself from speaking. It was alright. She was entitled to keep her secrets. I would wait. "If it offends you that I am talking to you, I can simply walk away now if you would like," I said, standing up slowly. Saying the words pained my heart but her reaction made the pain go away. Her eyes widened slowly and she shook her head vigorously.

"Please… Stay," She replied in a bare whisper. Bella didn't want me to go. Maybe it was because the dungeon scared her. It would scare anyone, to be honest. The nearly black brick walls, the shivering cold that seeped through the walls, the silence… it must be maddening. "I… I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me Bella. It's quite alright. My apologies in the questioning…" Was it time to be honest or to fib a little longer? Of course lying was never the answer but… I didn't want my feelings out in the open just yet. Maybe stretch this for a little while longer would not hurt anyone.

"It's alright… I just… I don't know why but I feel like I can trust you," Bella responded in the same tone as before. It was a strain to hear but not a large challenge. A smile placed itself on my lips as I crouched down once again to look at her. Bella looked me in the eyes and something seemed to click in me. She needed liberty… freedom. Maybe I could give it to her, in a certain form. Standing up again, she looked at me and seemed to be panic-stricken. "Are you leaving?"

I didn't answer her question, not just yet. Walking up to the guard on the other side of the gate, he bowed and looked me in the eyes. "Give me the keys to her binds." The guard's eyes widened and his mouth opened to protest but I gave him a stone cold glare. He shivered slightly, nodded and handed me the keys through the bars. "Thank you," I responded politely before walking back to Bella, whose eyes seemed to have widened. Kneeling before her, those beautiful brown orbs of hers never seem to have left my face.

My hands reached towards her shackles but she stiffened slightly in shock. "What are you doing?" Bella asked in complete disbelief.

"Giving you freedom," was my simple answer before beginning to unlock her binds. When the shackles fell out from her wrists, she let her arms go back to her side but never stopped looking at me.

"But… why?"

"I'm not freeing you completely. But I am giving you more freedom to roam as you please. I am letting you go from these dungeons but you will be forced to stay within the walls of the castle." It was the only solution I could think of to keep her close to me without freeing her to go back to stealing and getting caught once more. It seemed to be the honest thing to do at this point.

"But…" Bella didn't seem to understand what was happening to her. Honestly, I didn't either. She wasn't a threat to anyone. The only crime she committed was trying to stay alive, along with her brother. Could we keep her in this cold dungeon simply for that? In my mind, no. Which is why I was giving her this opportunity. Bella would still have to be kept prisoner but not in the sense of being chained to a wall. She would have a larger liberty to roam freely through the castle. But she could not leave to go back to her brother… "I don't understand."

"Simple. I'm deciding to let you go, but not completely. You see, if I send you back to the streets, you will continue to steal and maybe, be caught in the end. Whereas if we keep you here but simply not in the dungeon, we can keep a closer eye on you and determine your… faith, in a sense," I said, looking down at her. Bella stood up and looked me dead in the eyes, seeming outraged now.

"You're letting me go but you won't let me go see my brother, who needs me? It'd be best if you simply left me here!" She exclaimed, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

"Do you _want_ to stay in this ratty old dungeon until we, not only me but my mother and father, decide what to do with you?" I asked.

"Well… no but this is outrageous! If you are simply releasing me to look out at the city, it's nearly as if you were sending me to the lions. I need to see my brother…" Bella replied sadly. It was heartbreaking to keep her away from the one person in her life that meant everything to her but I couldn't just free her completely. Nothing would have changed. At least this way, there could be something we could do.

"Depending on your actions upon your new freedom, I'll see what I can do about you seeing your brother. Does that seem fair enough?"

She hesitated, bit her lip and nodded slightly, looking away from me. My slow hand went to her back and we began walking away from the dungeon, past the guards and up into the halls of the castle. Jasper would certainly yell at me for this later but this is what my heart told me to do. It seemed irrational and reckless but my instincts told me to do so. Bella could always escape and go to her brother… but let's hope she doesn't.

We'll have to see how this plays out.

**Alright so what did you guys think? I'll make an Emmett chapter next time, don't worry. But so far, please tell me what you think in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

11


	9. Separation and determination

**Alright so I really don't know what I did wrong with the last chapter but you guys seem to like short chapters so here's a short one. So please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 8

Separation and determination

**Bella****'s Point of View**

This was maddening… How could he simply let me go from the dungeon but to keep me in the castle? Emmett… what was happening to him? Was he alright? How could Edward do this? But… a part of me liked this new sentence. For some odd reason, back in the dungeon when we were talking, I _wanted_ to spill my heart out to him. A part of me wanted to be close to him, to talk to him freely without any titles in the way. Even if he was a prince, it didn't matter to me at the moment. Edward showed me back in the dungeon what kind of person he is… or part of who he is.

And I liked it.

I never imagined anything of the kind happening to me but… it did. With Edward. I liked having him near me, to have such a good person like him beside me, even if I was his prisoner.

He walked me out of the dungeons with nothing but my clothes on. No chains, no restraints, nothing. It was nice of him to behave this way. It made my heart warm. But more thoughts kept floating in my mind as we walked. I might be his prisoner but that meant I could escape more freely now. There were so many openings. It would be the perfect opportunity to run to Emmett, wherever he might be. How could I have been so stupid as to leave the hut after he specifically told me not to for my own safety? None of this would have happened if I had stayed there. What must Emmett be going through? Poor guy…

**Emmett's Point of View**

My baby sister had been taken by the guards and I was just sitting here, doing nothing! What kind of big brother was I if I didn't stick up for her? Sitting upon a wooden box, head in hands, my mind kept rolling with different methods to save her. But what could I do? All I was good for was getting into fights with others to get money. My fists wouldn't do much against a pack of guards… And I wasn't nearly as stealthy as Bella was so that was a negative.

What else was there to do? What were they doing to her at this very moment? Would I see her alive?

NO! I couldn't think like that. She was a fighter. Bella can get through anything, even this. But she couldn't take them all alone, especially with that injury. Oh god… What condition would she be in when I found her? Would she still be alive? That wound was basically killing her the last time I saw her. And it had gotten bad. It would get worse if she didn't have proper care. And staying in a dungeon with a bad injury wasn't good for her.

Bella…

I had to get her out of there, by all means necessary. And without getting caught. If I were to get caught as well… well, at least we would be stuck in a cold and muggy dungeon together, like brother and sister.

But it would be better if I didn't get caught, at all. And this job was impossible alone. Someone would need to help me. Someone skilled and capable of pulling off this kind of job… There had to be someone in town who could help. But who?

Standing up, my mind was set. I would look through town and beat the information out of anyone in my way. Running to the window, I grabbed the window sill, threw myself over it and landed on the solid ground a few feet below. Standing up straight, my legs began pushing and I ran towards the open streets in hopes to find someone who could help me save Bella.

It took many twists and turns to finally find a group of teenagers, all surrounding one another as they chatted away. Most of the kids in that group looked to be about fifteen to sixteen years old, not even adults yet. But we were all like that, or almost all of us. Bella had just turned eighteen and I was nineteen, just a little over a year older than her. Looking at the crowd, there was a familiar face that struck me out of all the teens: a boy with olive coloured skin and dark haired dreadlocks. Laurent. Like some people here, Laurent was one of the many who knew every knick and crack in this entire town. But he was also a businessman who could get you anything you wanted… for a price. Laurent might be known as the fearless businessman but there was one thing that could easily win him over: his fear of me. Unfortunately, I'd crossed paths with him on some occasions and every time, he'd end up with a bloody nose. Not pretty. Maybe persuading him to help me out of fear would be just the thing I needed to get Bella out of there.

Walking over to them, Laurent's dark brown eyes met mine and he froze, his body beginning to shiver as I approached the group. As they began looking in my direction, my bad reputation kicked in and they began running for their lives. Damnit! With my height and weight, I was able to knock out several of them—either with a good punch to the temple or an upper cut—but the rest of them escaped. Along with Laurent. He'd found the opportunity to run along with the others when my eyes were away from him.

"Damnit!" I screamed aloud when looking around and finding no trace of the man with the dreadlocks. My chance at finding Bella had just vanished. It would be hard to find him again. The little weasel would definitely hide from me now that he knew I was looking for him.

Suddenly, a little whimpering sound was heard through the now quiet street. "Huh?" I asked myself and began turning my head in the direction of the sound. Behind a large wooden crate, there was an olive coloured hand shaking against a dark haired head. Bingo. The little coward… Stalking over to him, he looked up and saw me advancing towards him. His whimpering became louder and I grabbed the collar of his robe, lifting him up and pushing him into a brick wall, keeping my hold on his collar strong and threatening. "There you are, you little devil."

"What do you want from me?" His French accent—yeah, French. Apparently, his French parents died when he was very little and Laurent's been moving from place to place and landed here after a while of searching—rang through the street, sobs erupting from his throat. "Please just let me go! I'll give you whatever you want!"

"Whatever I want, you say?" He nodded quickly, trying to save his own skin. Laurent is always a man who will be drawn to power. Right now, I had power over him and he would follow me. Usually, I would never be this violent but we were talking about Bella. If you messed with my sister, you messed with me. And these guards just messed with me. "My baby sister just got taken by the guards yesterday and I am going to need your help to get her back. So, you're gonna help me whether you like it or not. Got it?" Laurent looked at me with wide eyes but soon nodded slowly. "Good. Now get your stuff. We're gonna plan now."

**Bella's Point of View**

Edward and I had walked in silence until we arrived at a large wooden door. Why were we here? Looking back at Edward, his eyes met mine once before opening the large door, placing a hand on my back and leading me inside. My mouth literally fell open when seeing the beautiful bedroom. A large bed with four bed posts, all of them nearly fifteen feet high. The posts were attached to one another with curtains made from something like satin. So thin… and so beautiful.

The bed overlooked the town, no windows but a beautiful porch and a bench in front of the wall. Sitting down on it, you could overlook the entire town and look at the sun set. There was a small area in the corner of the room where a dozen pillows, large to small, were lined on the floor as a sitting area. So many colours filled the room: burgundy, red, blue, yellow, every colour imaginable… even gold. It was absolutely beautiful.

"What is this?" I asked Edward, walking in the room, knowing it was probably a bad idea. Edward might send me back to the dungeon for trespassing in his rooms.

"Your bedroom." My eyes widened at those two words. Turning back to him, my eyes locked with his and couldn't find any detection of lie in his emerald green orbs. He was serious.

"This has to be some mistake. I'm a prisoner. I'm supposed to have a lousy servant's quarter or not even that! I can't have this."

"Unfortunately for you, all of our servant's quarters are taken and this is an available room. Your room is adjacent from mine. My quarters is across the hall. I'll be able to keep an eye on you. Everything works out perfectly. Would you rather return to the dungeons?"

Looking down, I whispered: "No…" and noticed him smile slightly. He liked having me stay in this room rather than the dungeon. "Thank you for this accommodation."

"You're welcome. Now, I must take care of a few business matters but please, make yourself comfortable. I will find Alice and have her select something comfortable for you to wear," Edward said and began walking towards the door. There had to be something said before he left.

"Your highness?" I asked politely, not wanting to be sent away this early. The prince turned around and smiled slightly at me, his hand on the handle of the large door.

"Edward, and yes Bella?" He asked softly.

"Why me? Out of all the prisoners in your dungeon, you chose me to stay in the castle… Why?" I asked, still in disbelief of him helping me. How could a prince help someone such as myself in this situation? He could have simply left me down there… "I don't understand."

"To be honest Bella, neither do I. This is a complicated situation and my feelings are… clouded at the moment. Let's just say that we will see where things lead. Farewell for now Bella," Edward said with a smile before closing the door softly behind him. As his form disappeared, a small smile appeared on my face at his words. He cared… It might not mean much now but Edward cared.

Walking over to the porch, I sat down on the bench and looked out to the town. My mind returned to Emmett… How was he dealing at the moment? And when would I see him next? Never? Soon?

Sighing, I placed my arms against the edge of the wall and placed my chin against my arms, looking down at the entrance of the castle before looking at the town once again. "Emmett… I miss you."

**Alright so since you guys seem to like short chapters, here it was. What did you think? Good? Bad? Could be better? Let me know in some REVIEWS PLEASE!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

7


	10. Clothing and stories

**Alright so while I'm away, I decided to make two chapters for each story. But then when I was writing this chapter, it went up to nearly 15 pages so I decided to simply give you guys one chapter (kill me all you want later) and then write other chapters for other stories. Don't worry, I'll write a chapter for you guys soon so you'll get your chapter. But for now, please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 9

Clothing and stories

**Edward****'s Point of View**

When exiting out of Bella's room, a sigh of relief escaped my lips. She seemed to be liking her new accommodations right now. Although it was a setback for her, it was still more freedom than she had before. Once closing the door behind me, Jasper appeared out of the corner of the hallway and locked gazes with me. I couldn't bear to hear any of his infantries about Bella and so, I walked away from the door. But I wasn't quick enough.

When walking away from the room, someone caught hold of my arm and made me turn around. It was Jasper. Of course... "Have you completely lost your mind?" He asked in a shocked tone.

Wrenching my arm from his grip, I looked at him coldly and said: "No, I haven't lost anything, much less my mind. And I would appreciate it if you gave her a chance. She truly isn't all that terrible Jasper. If you take the time to try and see what kind of good heart she has, then you would think differently of her, I'm sure."

He looked at me dumbfounded and tried to compose himself. "Edward, you are losing focus. You are a prince, the next ruler of Persia. You cannot start fancying a mere peasant such as her."

"Who says I cannot? It's not a crime to have feelings for her Jasper, no matter what she is."

"But it will reflect badly upon you."

"That is not my concern. It's yours," I admitted, looking at my brother coldly. He seemed even more shocked that I would bring this subject along in this conversation but he had forced my hand. "Jasper, I am going to get to know Bella whether you like it or not. Now, I'm going to need Alice's help to find her some decent clothing and we will go explore the castle. And it would be appreciated if you could find it in your busy schedule to try and talk to Bella. It won't kill you... actually, it might." Walking away from a still shocked Jasper, I set off to find his wife.

It took a little while to find Alice and I was thankful for that spare time. This time away from Jasper helped me calm down. His attitude towards Bella was driving me to insanity and made me even angrier than before. He wasn't normally like this. Jasper was normally more caring about others... of his kind. Of royalty. It was the first time that him or his siblings associated with 'common folk', as he would put it. But, before judging someone, he needs to be able to get to know them and_ then_ make his decision. And Jasper was judging Bella unfairly by assuming the worse before speaking to her face to face. That was what upset me the most. My brother was too focused on reputation and titles that he didn't see the person for who he or she was.

After calming down, I saw Alice sitting quietly by one of the many fountains, reading a large book. She reminded me a lot of my mother. Mother liked reading on a bench near flowers or a fountain. Walking over to Alice, she sensed someone was nearby, looked up from her book and smiled at me. "Hello Edward. What a pleasure seeing you here," Alice said, her smile never leaving that small face.

"Likewise Alice." Sitting down on a platform near her, I looked deep in her eyes and entwined my fingers together, making a fist out of both hands. "I'm here to ask a favour from you, if you have the time, that is."

"Of course. What do you need? Does this certain favour include that girl from the dungeon?"

"I suppose you've heard about this from Jasper?"

"Forgive me for prying. But this is quite the romantic affair, if you ask me," Alice said with a bright smile. She was easier to talk to than Jasper. Always a positive attitude about everything, or nearly anything. Unlike Rosalie, my other sister, who was a little more pessimist than Alice. But Rosalie was very kind. "But aside from that, what do you need?"

"Bella needs some clothes in her closet and you're the most qualified person, in my eyes, for the task who could give her any decent clothing. Would it be possible if we could borrow some of your clothing and you could help her match?" An even bigger smile seemed to have made its way to Alice's features. She was thrilled, which was the answer I'd been looking for.

"Absolutely! You can count on me. Plus, it'll give me a chance to see who she really is," Alice said happily, tucking her book under her arm and stood up.

Standing up as well, I said: "But please don't tire her too much. I want to spend some time with her before night falls. Her quarters are in front of mine." Alice nodded and skipped off to her room, her happiness radiating off to me.

I couldn't wait to see how Bella would look once Alice was done with her. She would probably be stunning...

**Alice's Point of View**

Rushing to my room, I took out all of the clothes that I imagined would look nice on Bella—what a beautiful name! In Italian, her name meant 'beautiful' so Edward must have some fascination for this girl, not just for her personality but also for her looks—even though I was clueless to what she liked and looked like.

Walking over to the room Edward had mentioned, I knocked on the door, two servant girls named Jessica and Lauren following on my trail with the clothing in hand. The door swung open shortly after and a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes opened the door, looking at me curiously.

"Um... yes?" She asked hesitantly. Her arm was in a sling, hopefully healing soon. I'd have to be careful when clothing her. That robe she wore barely showed how beautiful she really was.

"Are you Bella?" I asked with a gentle smile.

"That's me..." She replied, once again, hesitantly. Was she afraid? She didn't have to be. I won't bite.

"I'm Alice. Edward asked me to help you with your clothing arrangements. Is it alright if we come in?" I asked softly.

"Um... yes," Bella said, stepping off to the side to let us pass.

Smiling at her, we entered and looked around. Edward had chosen a very nice room for her. It was quaint and very open. But... she was a thief, of what Jasper said. Wouldn't she try and escape? Especially in a room this wide and open, it's a risk Edward was taking. Looking back at Bella, she fidgeted slightly with the hem of her sleeve, simply looking at me. What was she afraid of? Maybe superiority? Well, Bella didn't have to worry about me. I wasn't of Cullen blood... but I was royalty. Before marrying Jasper, I was a princess. My title simply became more elaborate when I tied myself to Jasper. Maybe she was afraid I'd do something against her.

"Don't be scared. You don't need to feel intimidated or anything," I said, looking at Bella once before looking at the servants. "You may leave us now. Thank you." The two nodded, placed the clothes on the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. Looking back at Bella, she still seemed on edge. "Alright, shall we get started?"

"Um... yes."

Rolling my eyes slightly, she looked confused while I smiled. "I suppose those are the only two words you know? Bella, you don't need to be scared around me. Everything's alright," I reassured her, hoping that it would help her.

"Alright your highness," Bella replied much too formally for my taste.

Moving my finger in a 'no, no, no' gesture, I smiled and said: "No formalities. I don't want titles getting in the way. We're two people, aren't we? So please, just call me Alice."

"Um... alright you—" I gave her a playful stone cold stare and she cleared her throat nervously. "I mean Alice..." A smile erupted on my face as she very slowly began unwinding around me.

"That's better. Now, how about I see what you look like and we can go from there?" Bella nodded and I motioned her to come closer. She walked slowly up to me and stood just a few inches away from me. Looking her over, I _hm_ed and nodded while walking around her, my eyes darting from her hair to her feet. She was really quite pretty. And she would dashing once I would be done with her. Standing in front of her once more, I looked from her eyes to her toes and nodded. "Alright, we'll try an ensemble and see what it looks like. If it needs work, then we'll ask someone to make some sutures and we'll be able to find something that you like. In a few days, we'll go to the market and find you some more clothes of your own to wear and you'll be all set."

"But... I'm a prisoner. Why are you helping me so much?" Bella asked.

"Because, I want to try and know you. So does my brother-in-law. I have a feeling you'll be staying her longer than you may think," I replied honestly and walked over to the bed. Picking up a red blouse and a pair of beige pants, I walked back over to Bella and handed them to her. "Here, try these on. Actually... first, we'll get you cleaned up. You must desperately want to feel the water cascading under you for a shower and so, I'll give you a few minutes and wait for you here. Is that alright? If you need help, simply let me know. I know that your arm might give you grief so we'll lend you a helping hand."

Bella nodded, took the clothing and walked with me to the bathroom attached to her room. Before she closed the door, I heard her whisper: "Thank you for the shower... Honestly," before closing the door softly behind her. I doubt she even had a shower. How did Bella live before she was taken here? Did she have anyone, such as a brother or sister? Who knew... Maybe she would tell me a little more about herself, but I'd have to ask. Maybe have a little talk with her while we worked on making her stunningly beautiful for Edward.

A smile went to my lips thinking about it. You could see in his eyes that he liked her. There was a certain glow in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time. No one had. Considering Jasper and I had only been married two years, Edward had been feeling empty ever since. Bella was probably his one chance at happiness. No one would interfere with his happiness if I had any say in this.

Pulling my book out of my bag, I began reading while waiting for Bella. I loved reading romance novels. It made me think of Jasper and I when we were alone. Jasper was very sweet. He always made sure I was alright before he took care of himself and he was very gentle with me. We could just hold each other for hours and it would be the best thing in the world for the both of us.

While reminiscing of our beautiful moments together—even during sex—the door opened and Bella came out, dressed and her hair shining in the sunlight. You could see red streaks embedded in her hair when the sun shined in just the right angle. Boy, Edward was going to _love_ her when I would be done.

"Did you have any problems with the shower?" I asked. It might have been a bother for others, considering it was a lever that would send a signal to the workers downstairs and they would turn a wheel and the water would flow until the lever was turned off, but it seemed as though Bella didn't seem bothered by the wait for the water.

"At fi—um... no. There were no problems." I could tell that she was being dishonest with me. Unacceptable.

"Bella..." I said with a warning tone, which made her sigh.

"Alright, so it surprised me when there was no water for a while and then it came crashing down but other than that, it was fine. There were no other problems. It was quite refreshing," She finally responded honestly. With a simple nod and a warm smile from me, I stood up and looked her over from head to toe.

"Hm..."

"Did I do something wrong? I can take it off and put my robe back on. It's—" I placed my hand in front of her, telling her to stay silent for a few moments and she understood immediately, bowing her head. Oh no... she was being formal once again. Bella was too formal, as if she didn't belong here.

But she did. Beside Edward.

"First of all, please don't feel that you have to be polite all the time because you don't. Especially not with me. You really aren't obligated to continue like this; bowing and calling me by my title. Just call me Alice and act like I'm someone like you, alright?" I asked as nicely as I could and Bella looked at me for a few seconds before nodding. At least we were getting somewhere."Alright, so second of all, you are never going to wear that ratty robe again. Especially not in this place.

"But—"

"No buts. Edward released you from the castle dungeon for a reason, didn't he? So there won't be anymore 'buts' or anything. You'll fit right in. It won't take long, trust me," I said with a soft smile. Bella looked me deep in the eyes and nodded briefly after. "Alright, so third of all, I was going to mention that red fits you well but we should try some more pieces of clothing and see what fits you best, alright?" I know Edward's favourite colour was blue. Red helped bring out the highlights in her hair—and she'd be keeping all of these clothes—but we would try the blue shirt. "So, we need to make a few adjustments to your top to make it slimming but the pants seem to fit you nicely. Therefore, I'd like you to keep the pants but put this top on alright?" I said, handing her a green Arabic blouse.

Bella nodded and went to try the blouse as I called a guard and asked him to get the seamstress. He left and a few minutes later—accounting for the fact that Bella had difficulty with her arm at the moment—Bella stepped out and modelled for me. It took us a little while to see all of the other clothes I'd brought—maybe I should have picked less clothes than what I brought—but, in the end, every piece of clothing was perfect on Bella. It made her shine, and it wasn't because of the gold on the clothing.

As the seamstress worked on tightening the blouse to fit Bella in a sliming matter to show some of Bella's curves and appeals, Bella was standing as I sat down on the bed next to the two.

"What were you reading before?" Bella asked as the seamstress continued working on the blue blouse. The colour blue was perfect on her. It seemed to be made especially for her. Edward was going to love looking at her tonight.

"A romance novel called '_Two Separate Worlds_'. Do you read a lot?"

"We don't have the money to buy books. But whenever we find any in the trash bins, there would always be some that interested us and so, we took those but other than that, not really..." Bella responded, looking straight ahead and never looking towards me, possibly to avoid getting pinned by the seamstress.

"If you don't mind me asking, did you ever want to steal some books like you steal money and food?" I asked, my smile fading slowly away.

Bella sighed, closing her eyes and said: "I don't like stealing. Especially when I don't have to. I never did and never will. I didn't like it the first time I did it and I don't like doing it now. But there isn't any other choice. It's the only way we can survive..."

"What happened the first time...?" I didn't want to pressure her but this was grabbing my attention.

"My parents died when I was very young. We thought that our parents would teach us how to read and write but when they died, we were on our own. I—"

"You keep mentioning 'we'. Do you mind telling me who you're talking about?" Bella hesitated at first, probably not trusting me. "It's alright. I won't tell a soul if you don't want me to. And you don't have to tell me if you don't feel up for it." Hopefully she would begin trusting me soon. It seems as though Bella had gone through a lot in her childhood.

But Bella sighed once more and continued speaking again. "I know that I'm going to be sent back to the dungeon so it doesn't really matter." _Honestly, I doubt you'll ever be going back there..._ I thought as she continued her story. "My brother, Emmett, and I. He's a year older than I am and he's always taken care of me... We're inseparable... or so I thought until yesterday..." You could tell she missed her brother a lot. Maybe there could be some way that she could see him again? He must be worried sick over her. With all of this freedom, she can't even go tell him that she's alright. It didn't seem fair... There had to be something we could do... "When our parents died, we knew that we had to rely on ourselves. But to rely on ourselves meant needing the basic knowledge of literacy, which we didn't have. Not many kids had to do that at our age but I said that it was an essential. And it was.

"So that was when the stealing first started. I think I was five. Can't quite remember. Emmett tried to get in by simply sneaking in but he got banned by the guards around the city. So I was the only one who could get in without being detected. But it cost quite a bit of money... So I tried pick-pocketing. And with my speed, I could escape easily but... it was hard, emotionally and physically for a five year old. It took a while but I finally got the hang of it without getting caught and I was able to get the money. So, I took the classes and taught Emmett afterwards. But... it feels wrong that I had to steal for personal gain. Always feels that way..." Bella said, looking down now as the seamstress finished with the blouse.

Wow... I never thought that she had gone through all that just to be able to _read_!

"Did that include simply writing or also reading?" I asked, deep in fascination with the story as the seamstress brought Bella to the Chinese changing curtain close to the wall. I couldn't see what was happening but as the seamstress began taking off the blouse, my ears detected Bella's small cry of pain. Standing up, I looked at the curtain and said: "Be careful! Can't you see Bella's hurt?" The seamstress stopped in mid air—I could see the arms of the blouse hanging in the air—understood my words, took the blouse off very carefully and walked out of the room, the pinned blouse in hand, closing the door softly behind her. I grabbed a golden robe and handed it to Bella, not looking around the curtain. "Bella, are you alright? Here, put this on. It will serve properly for the time being.

"Thanks Alice..." Bella said, ignoring my first question but stepping around the curtain, holding a soft hand to her arm. She looked at me with an appreciative look in her eyes that made me smile very slightly.

"Not a problem. Come, you can rest while I brush your hair, what do you say?" I asked, motioning towards the small English desk containing a large mirror and a few drawers for the brushes and beauty products.

"You don't have to do—"

"Bella, I want to. Besides, this is giving us a fabulous time to talk woman to woman. Are you not liking this time together?"

"Yes but—"

"Bella, what did I say before? No buts. Please, take a seat and rest while I fashion your hair," I said, motioning for Bella to sit down once more. This time, she complied. Bella sat down in the beautiful wooden chair while I dug through the drawers to find the brush. Once finding it, I softly took hold of Bella's magnificently thick hair and brushed soft strokes into it, untangling her hair delicately as not to jostle her further. "How is your arm?"

"The pain's stopped... Thank you for before... You really shouldn't have... A thief deserves its punishments..." She said, looking at me through the large mirror standing and leaning against the desk.

"Bella, you don't deserve punishment. You acted out of necessity back then, even now. If she could not understand, then that seamstress should be fired upon the spot," I said, continuing to brush Bella's hair.

But Bella seemed to panic at this statement. "Oh please don't! She didn't mean it, I'm sure. It's alright, no harm done. Just please..."

Looking at her, Bella seemed to be concerned about the seamstress and barely about herself. She had quite the warm heart. Edward had better keep her around. I quite like this woman.

"Alright, we'll keep her in the castle but one more slip up on her part and I'll inform Edward about what she's doing and she _will_ be fired." Bella hesitated but nodded anyways.

Nearly halfway through finishing Bella's hair, Bella began speaking again. "Do you have someone you would give anything for...?" She asked in a bare whisper, probably hoping it wasn't too personal.

A smile spread itself across my face while thinking of Jasper. "Yes, Jasper Cullen, Edward's older brother. We were wedded two years ago and we are deeply in love. I would do and give anything for him. Anything..." I replied happily.

"How did you meet him?" She asked curiously, some of her strength returning.

"For me to explain such a story, I'd have to go back a little. Is that alright?" I asked and Bella nodded. "Alright, so I need to explain to you a little about my past. Don't fret. It won't take very long." And so, I began the story gently. "I was an only child. But my mother became very ill one day and died when I was simply five. My father remarried and wedded a woman with three children. So my father forgot I existed. Only Tanya, Irina and Kate mattered to his eyes. So when I grew up to be old enough to marry, my father and stepmother decided one day to visit the Cullen castle in Persia.

"And that was the day I first met Jasper Cullen. He'd stood next to Carlisle, his father, and looked at me for the first time. I couldn't take my eyes off him... I don't believe he could either. And we couldn't stop smiling. He was gorgeous. He still is, always taking my breath away. That day, he'd been in his best attire; golden robe, beige pants, his hair matched perfectly and it made his green eyes shine marvellously... But we were a forbidden love, mostly because of my stepmother. Carmen didn't like the fact that Jasper had loved me instead of one of her daughters. I was too plain for her standards. Jasper and I, ignoring the forbidden love stories, saw each other frequently but... that's when my stepmother intervened with our happiness.

"She'd talked with Esme, Jasper's mother, and had decided that Kate would be wed to Jasper. My heart had been shattered at my father's acceptance of this but my stepmother had him wrapped around her finger... For many days, she planned the wedding as my father complied to her every will. The Cullens weren't too pleased about the marriage but didn't utter a word. My stepmother was very popular among royal lines and so, it would give the Cullens a bad reputation to refuse such an offer to join our lines together. But Jasper was against the idea from the start. One night, he rode over to my castle, climbed up to my window—which wasn't very high off the ground—and asked me to be his. I had been worried about my family discovering our plans but we simply kept it to ourselves and the Cullens, who were all for the idea.

"We got married in secrecy, the Cullens being our only guests and the papers were official. Nothing my parents could have done would have made a difference. We were wedded and never regretted it. That was probably the happiest moment of our life," I ended with a bright smile plastered onto my face. The memory still warmed my heart. I kept thinking about Jasper's glorious smile up on the altar, shining down upon me; my handmade dress; the look of the Cullens' faces when looking at us... It was the best moment in my life. Nothing could top that.

"That's a beautiful story..." Bella said dumbfounded. She was entranced in the story and her look on her face told me that she couldn't believe everything we had gone through to be able to be together. At least she would understand now with Edward.

"Yes, it is." Looking at the sunset, it told me that it was nearly time for supper. But... was Bella invited? If she was with me, then there would be no problems. And afterwards, Edward was supposed to take her on a walk around the castle. It would be quite the romantic night. "It's nearly time for supper. I suggest we start heading out," I said, placing the last flower accessory to her hair. While explaining the story, I'd fashioned Bella's hair into two small braids and let the rest of her hair loose to fall against her back with small flowers in her braids to make it like a small crown. She would really look beautiful.

"I don't think I should be there... I'm a prisoner. I don't get meals..." Bella replied, forcing me to roll my eyes at her. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and the seamstress came back with the blouse finished. She worked quickly but efficiently. That was the reason we kept her around... for now.

The seamstress handed me the blouse and left the room soon afterwards. My eyes darted to Bella in the mirror and I said: "Bella, you are a different kind of prisoner, one that has special privileges. And Edward would want you at supper tonight. In fact, if you come with me, no one will mind." I smiled at her and she seemed to relax at my words. Maybe she just needed to feel accepted first. Well, she would be tonight. "Come, we'll get this blouse on you and you will look stunning for tonight."

We got Bella in the blouse and my eyes widened at how she looked. It was absolutely astonishing how she looked! I did some very good work on her. There wasn't much to be done in the beginning but now that she's well dressed and out of that ratty old robe, she was amazingly beautiful. Just as I was about to speak, another knock came to the door. This time, Edward stepped in the room and looked at us. When his eyes spotted Bella, he smiled brightly and his smile never faded or wavered. He liked her. It was evident.

Hopefully Bella felt the same way.

"You look stunning Bella," Edward said, walking over to the two of us. Bella blushed slightly but looked at him.

"T—thank you..." She stuttered in a slightly happy tone. Yes! It was working! My magic was working its charm upon the two of them.

"Shall we all go to dinner? Mother and Father must be waiting for us," Edward asked, looking at me once then to Bella. "Don't worry, I've arranged for an extra place at the table to be made especially for you beside me. You might be a prisoner but you still need to be fed."

"Um... alright..." She said hesitantly, still not understanding how she can be treated this royally if she was simply a prisoner, in her eyes. Bella's an open book. You can easily see everything she feels by simply looking at her. Edward nodded and extended his hand towards Bella. She hesitantly took it and they walked off silently towards the dining room.

A smile stayed plastered on my face. They would end up together. It was certain.

**So what did you think of Bella and Alice's little conversation? Did I do a good job? Would there be any changes to be made? Let me know in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**


	11. A royal meal

**Ok, not my best chapter on this story but I tried my best and I'm sorry for the late update but I didn't have much inspiration on this one until the very end of the chapter. So please read and review and I promise that the next one will be better.**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 10

A royal meal

**Bella****'s Point of View**

I never thought that any of this would happen in my life. But it has happened. Or it was beginning...Not too sure. How would this night go? It would be uncomfortable, that was for sure. I was a mere prisoner. Why in the world would Edward invite me to have dinner with his family? They were royals... I would never fit with them...But did I have a choice? Probably not. Who in their right minds would say no to a prince, much less when you were a prisoner? And so I had to go along with it, even though it wasn't right.

Edward and I walked towards a large room but my stomach turned into knots. _I should be here... I should be in a dungeon with all the other prisoners... _My mind kept telling me as we walked. Edward seemed to be... glowing at the moment. A smile was lit on his face—a dim smile but it was evident that he was happy for some reason—and his expression, meaning his stance, features and everything about him, seemed to be radiating happiness. But why? And for what?

Once arriving in front of two large double doors, Edward stopped and asked the guards to open the door. As the guards opened the door, my heart clenched. I grabbed onto Edward's arm softly with my good hand—grabbing him forcefully would probably resort in my return to the dungeon—and he immediately stopped. His emerald green eyes turned to me and looked worried.

"What's the matter?" He asked, his velvety tone nearly cutting through me. It was beautiful to hear. Never could I get enough of his voice, or Edward in general. Maybe this was the reason that I didn't want to go back to the dungeons... I wanted to stay with him. No matter what.

But right now seemed essential to say this. "I don't belong there. This is your family dinner and I'm just a prisoner. I don't even deserve to be up here. I should be back in the dungeons where I—"

"Bella, I wanted you to come with me. You being incarcerated in the dungeon will help no one, and especially yourself. And that wound of yours was badly damaged. If no one had taken care of it, you would not be here at the moment. And I want you to dine with us tonight. It looks like you haven't eaten in a very long time and it will do you some good to meet the family," Edward replied with a soft smile. It was true that my wound would have killed me and that I should eat something but meeting his family? After two days of being in this castle?

"You're a royal and I'm a street rat."

"Never call yourself that Bella. You are much more than a... street rat, as you say. But Bella, you have a choice in the matter. I would never force you to do anything; much less go to a measly dinner with my family. It's your choice. I would rather you feel like a guest than a prisoner at this point in time," Edward said, his eyes boring into mine. It felt like I was melting under his gaze. Absolutely amazing...

"I... I have a choice...?"

"Of course you do. You always have a choice Bella. In everything. Especially with me."

"Are you allowed to give me this choice?"

"Why would I not be? You're a human being with free will."

"Yes, but I'm a human being with free will who stole all her life. It's different. If I hadn't done that, then maybe I wouldn't feel like this right now. But you are all royals. Imagine what they will think when the prince of Persia comes to dinner and invites a prisoner to eat with him... Imagine what would happen to your reputation, your majesty." Yes, I just called him that. He hated that people like me used titles in front of him. Edward had told me that, if I were to speak to him, it would be by his name and not his title. Wonder what he would say to this now...

Edward's face fell at the mention of the title and looked at me. "I told you that I cannot stand to be called by my title. And you stole to live."

"Everyone does that in town."

"But you wish to stop stealing and live a life free of all of that. It's different. Others steal to want to elaborate their finances and simply get richer from others' misery. You, Bella, are not like that. You're different, which makes you a different person in general, which makes you the perfect candidate to stay in one of our quarters and to have dinner with my family. And I... I want my family to know you, know what I see in you," Edward admitted, never removing his gaze from mine. He was speaking from the heart; it was easy to tell from his voice. And that shocked me. "I want them to know that you're not just another prisoner."

"I—"

"Please." I don't think I've ever seen a prince beg for anything, especially to a street rat like myself. Did he really want me there tonight? What was so special about me anyways?

And could I say no to a prince? Edward said I had a choice but do I really? Doesn't seem like it in this context... And could it hurt to have dinner with royals? Probably hurt my self esteem and make me want to never come out of that large room ever again. There was only one way to find out...

Sighing, I nodded and Edward flashed a small smile that simply dazzled me, making me melt under his gaze. He nodded to the two guards and they opened the doors slowly, revealing a large and magnificent room. Golden plates, a table large enough to touch both end walls, food in the center big enough for a dozen royals, it was amazing. There were pillows on the ground for us to sit when eating and servants awaiting their orders to begin distributing the food... Maybe I should be one of them. It would surely fit me better than this. Those girls must think that I'm some sort of monster for eating when they should be eating instead of me. I could always as Edward if he would rather want me in the kitchen or cleaning the floors... but he'd probably say no.

For some reason, he really wanted me close to him. I didn't mind but it felt wrong for him, his reputation. It would be shot when others would hear that he is keeping a worthless street rat around in the castle... Some charity work. It would be awful for Edward to have to feel that he has to keep me around... But all of these thoughts couldn't be uttered aloud. Edward would blow his top if I did speak my mind. It's best for a peasant to keep their mouth shut when things like this pop up.

Suddenly, as we walked over to the table, a few royals came in, one of them being Alice. Alice had her arm around the blond man I'd seen that day they had captured me, Edward's brother. It appeared to be the man from her tale, Jasper. Edward had the same coloured eyes as Alice's husband. As Alice and her mate entered, there came an outstandingly beautiful woman with long, blond wavy hair that went down to the middle of her back. She was literally the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my entire life. Even standing in the same room as her made my self esteem drop immensely. Her green eyes told me that she was surely Edward's sister. Both the same emerald green eyes. And so he had two siblings...

Once the beautiful woman gilded over to stand near Alice and the curly blond man, she stood by the table and a couple entered. The King, with his blond hair and blue eyes, and what I presumed was his wife, the Queen. She was shorter than the King and had billows of gently waving, caramel-coloured hair. Her face was what attracted me to her the most. It seemed almost heart-shaped, motherly. Her figure is seen as slender, elegant for a queen. And she looked young. Maybe she simply looks young for her age... But Edward's family was beautiful. There was no denying that.

Alice's dark brown eyes shined when she saw me in her beautiful ensemble. She had dressed nicely as well, with a long white dress and her spiky raven-black hair shining in the light. All of them were dressed beautifully. And now, all eyes were on Edward and myself. Oh no…

"Son, I see you've brought a guest," The King pointed out, looking at me with a slight… smile? He was happy to see me? A prisoner such as myself in front of the King… It was unheard of where I live. "You must be Bella. I've heard many things about you," The King mentioned, his eyes boring into mine.

"Thank you, your majesty," I replied with a slight bow, trying to be polite. Edward slowly made me stand properly and placed a hand on my lower back, pulling me closer to his side.

The Queen approached me slowly and looked me over, making me feel inferior to all of them. _I shouldn't be here..._ my mind kept telling me over and over again. After a few deliberate seconds, the Queen smiled at me and said: "It's wonderful to finally meet you Bella."

Bowing once again, my only reply was: "It's an honour to be in your presence, your majesty." But once again, Edward lifted me up and made me look in the Queen's eyes, her blue eyes shining upon me. Why didn't Edward want me to bow? That's what peasants do when they are face to face with royalty. They barely speak and they bow.

"You are quite well-mannered, Bella. It's appreciative," The Queen responded, her smile still standing.

"Bella, let me introduce you to my family. I would like to introduce you to my mother, Esme Cullen, and my father, Carlisle," Edward said, motioning to his mother and then to his father. Both the King and Queen nodded and smiled at me. How could they be so calm and smiling in front of a prisoner such as myself? And what had Edward told them about me? It couldn't have been Jasper or anyone else who had told them about me… or could it? Bowing to the King and Queen, they smiled and stepped aside. The amazingly beautiful blond woman stepped forward and nodded, barely smiling. "This is Rosalie, my eldest sister."

"Pleasure to meet you Bella. Edward has told us… barely nothing about you," Rosalie mentioned, being quite straight forward. I didn't expect Edward to mention much about me but it still kind of hurt. "But welcome to the castle, I suppose."

Bowing to her, I responded slowly: "It's a pleasure to meet you, princess." Rosalie nodded and stepped aside to let Alice and Jasper walk up to us.

Alice smiled at me and, with a small smile of my own, Edward began speaking again. "Of course, you have already been introduced to Alice. And this is my elder brother, Jasper. And this, Bella, is my family."

Jasper never said a word to me. He simply stared me down and nodded ever so slightly after Edward finished speaking. Alright, this was _not_ going the way I had thought… but then again, nothing was turning out the right way these days. Especially with me living in the Persia castle. Out of politeness and fright, I bowed and looked down. Jasper's emerald gaze frightened me to no end and made me feel as though I should not be standing in front of him or any of his family members.

To avoid looking further at Jasper, Edward looked towards a woman with light brown hair, streaks of honey and, what seemed to be, very gentle brown eyes. The woman was carrying food and Edward nodded. "I believe that Angela is telling us it is time for dinner. Shall we?"

Edward's parents and siblings sat down and the servants began serving them. The servants looked at me as they served my drink in a manner that wondered why I was sitting with the royal family. My self-esteem once again was shot when nearly all of the servants glared at me. How they wished they were in my place right now… Only one was standing out from the others. Angela, as Edward had mentioned, was smiling at me, her eyes telling me that it was alright that I was here. She seemed nice, very gentle, just like her brown eyes. Maybe Edward would let me talk to her soon…

Angela placed a few pieces of chicken and rice on my plate and offered me a few fruits and vegetables. Taking a few, the King began speaking again, to me. "Edward has told me a few things about you, Bella."

"Is that right, your majesty?" I asked, not touching my food until the royals began eating.

Edward beckoned me to begin eating before us but it didn't feel right. The King nodded with a smile and everything became quiet. Awkward… Rosalie and Jasper began eyeing me as they ate, not sure of what to do with me just yet. But what threw me off what Jasper's look. It seemed as though he… questioned my stay here. Not a shock. I would have figured that one royal would be on my case about staying in the castle and not in the dungeon.

And Jasper was that royal.

His gaze was quite uncomfortable and so, I looked down at my plate, barely having ate anything. Alice noticed my gaze and spoke up. "What's the matter Bella? Is the food not to your liking?" She asked, her pixie voice ringing in my head happily. Alice was quite nice to me for some reason and I liked her back. She was, along with Edward, one of the few people who seemed to be happy to talk to a street rat such as myself.

Looking up slightly, she was smiling slightly at me. "The food is delicious. I'm just… not hungry…" Unfortunately, my stomach decided to betray me by resonating a large growl. Placing a hand to my stomach, everyone aside from Jasper—even Rosalie seemed to chuckle ever so slightly—laughed at me. Lovely…

"I believe your stomach seems to say differently. Don't be shy Bella. You have nothing to fear. You may eat with us as if you were one of us," The King answered with a smile. One of them…? I could barely even look like one of them, let alone act like a royal during supper. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you hurt your arm?"

"Um… I was running away from some guards and they shot me…" Adding more to that sentence might get me sent back to the dungeons. They wouldn't like it if they knew that I'd stolen a golden necklace and had been chased away by the guards… and Edward had saved me for the first time. "It's nothing… Your, um, shaman helped me."

"Well, we're glad to hear you're alright now. It must have been painful for you to experience such a thing," The Queen replied with yet another smile. It was hard to look away from her motherly face. It was so precious… irresistible…

Jasper couldn't seem to stay for dinner any longer and stood up briskly, walking away from the scene, glaring at me before closing the door behind him. Bowing my head, I knew immediately that he didn't fancy me at all. Alice frowned at Jasper's leaving form and gave me an apologetic look before standing up, saying a small: "If you'll excuse me," and prancing after Jasper, closing the door behind her.

And that's how the night was ruined, by none other than me and my staying in the castle. Sighing, I played with my food as the others continued to eat without another word. Because Edward had invited me to eat with his family, dinner was ruined. _I'm so sorry..._ was my thought as dinner came to an end later on and Edward stood up, looking at me and extending a hand.

My expression seemed confused as Edward placed his other hand behind his back like a true gentleman. With his extended hand, he smiled that wonderful smile and said: "If you have finished eating, would you care to join me on a walk around the gardens?"

Looking at the King and Queen, they smiled and nodded. Turning my attention back to Edward, he never removed his extended hand and kept his smile plastered on that beautiful face of his. Rosalie was the only silent one here. She continued eating silently, looking at her plate and nothing more, whereas Angela was smiling at me and motioning me to go with him. Should I? Should I go with a prince to have a stroll? Shouldn't I go back to the room or better yet the dungeons as Jasper would love to have happen?

That didn't seem the case… for now.

"Um… alright…" I answered, taking his hand softly and he lifted me up softly, careful not to jostle me too much because of my arm. As we both stood, Edward nodded to his family members and we both began walking out. "It was an honour to have had dinner with all of you. Thank you," I answered before we walked out of the dining room and began walking towards the gardens.

What was Edward planning…?

**So what did you guys think? I know it wasn't the best but it's better than nothing right? Well, let me know what you thought in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

10


	12. Stopping the anger

**Alright so VERY short chapter but I was kind of running out of ideas for this certain chapter. The next one will be better but I wanted this one done with. Just a heads up that I am starting university in… a week… and my posts will be slow but please stay patient with me. So now, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 11

Stopping the rage

**Alice****'s Point of View**

I'd run after Jasper after his sudden exit from the dining room table. He'd shot such a horrible look at Bella… was he angry because of her sitting with us? He couldn't have been that upset about it… Bella deserves to be with us, with Edward. Running after him, his form kept getting father and farther away from me. Of course, his legs were much longer than mine and so he could easily out walk me.

"Jasper!" I tried calling his name but he would not turn around. My husband was very angry at the moment, anyone could see it. And from his back, his stance was tense and irritated. What could I do for him anyways? Catching up to him, my hand reached for his wrist and caught it in my tiny hand, making him stop slowly. "Jasper, please stop and look at me."

Jasper slowly turned around to face me and stared me straight in the eyes, his anger never stopping. Hopefully he wouldn't turn that anger towards me. But somehow… it would. And it wouldn't be pretty.

"What is it Alice?" He asked, his tone slightly venomous. How could he turn all of this against me? I was innocent in all of this. Jasper was the one that was irrational and frustrated for no reason. "I'm not in the mood at the moment. Please let me return to our quarters and just go back to supper," He said, trying to twist out of my reach and walk away again.

"Jasper stop! Don't try and walk away from me!" I exclaimed, making him stop in surprise. I'd never raised my voice towards him but it was a special moment right now… He couldn't be this angry over Bella. She's a sweet and thoughtful person who makes Edward happy, and that should be the main priority for Jasper, Edward's _brother_. Jasper turned to face me and his anger seemed to be mixed with shock and confusion. He had never seen his wife shout at him like this and it was uncommon. "Jasper, this isn't you. The Jasper I know gives people a chance. Why won't you give Bella a chance?"

"She's a thief Alice! She has stolen for years and we are letting her live up in this castle as if she had been innocent her entire life! How can you not see this?" Jasper asked, making me flinch at his tone. He blamed all of this on Bella's past… Didn't he understand that people change? Can't he see that, in her eyes, she's changed? "I won't stand another minute with her so close to us. She could steal our belongings and hand it to her accomplices. She cannot be trusted Alice," Jasper said, staring in my eyes coldly and slightly frighteningly.

But anger started to course through me. He didn't know Bella yet he was making assumptions that weren't real. Standing straight, my eyes locked with his and a speech started forming. "You do not know her Jasper. She is a kind and gentle person that has done those deeds for a good reason."

"How do you know—"

"Simply because I have spent an afternoon with her and gotten to know her."

"You spent the afternoon with her? Has she hurt you? What has she planted in your mind, Alice?" Jasper asked, taking a hold of my upper arms and bringing his face closer to mine. This was not normal of him. How could he be so heartless? This was not my Jasper.

"She has done nothing but told me the truth about her life Jasper," I began, removing his hands from my arms. He had slightly hurt me when grabbing me but it was very much bearable. I knew that he was not like this normally. It was simply anger that he never expressed before. My Jasper would come back to me sooner or later once his anger dissipated and my words would bring him back to normal. "This afternoon, Jasper, was wonderful. And it felt right. Bella is as much a part of Edward's life as I was for yours. We were a forbidden love once Jasper and look at us now. Husband and wife. Edward has found someone who makes him happy and you can't stop to see that. Bella might have a horrible past—and she acted out of reasons that would surprise you Jasper—but she is trying to make amends from her past. Can't you see that in her eyes? Everyone else can. Even your mother and father have."

"Alice, I—"

"Bella has suffered a horrible past Jasper. And now that she's met Edward, it seems as though she's making progress in being happy in her life. How can you not try and accept her? Or even talk to her for that matter? What you did at the dinner table was rude and insensitive. And, in my opinion, you must make things right, especially with your brother and with Bella. She is simply trying to get accepted and forget about her past," I answered, looking in his eyes. He seemed surprised but otherwise unflinching. Looking at him for a few seconds, I tried to diminish my own anger but it wasn't as successful as planned. "Now, please just think about what I have said. I want you to be comfortable with Bella so please, talk to her. I will meet you back in our chambers." Kissing him softly on the cheek, I began walking away and towards our room, hoping that my words had affected him somehow…

Let's just hope it did affect him.

**Jasper's Point of View**

Alice had been so franc and slightly cold but it was… the truth. There was no lie in her eyes. Did she really want me to make peace with the thief? How could it be? But… she had been right about one thing. What Edward and Bella had—were starting to get—was a forbidden love. Just like Alice and myself. I could emphasize with this girl.

Standing there, I knew what I had to do. For Alice's sake. For my brother's sake.

I had to get to know Bella.

**Alright so not my best work but what do you think? Good? Bad? Good but could be better? Please let me know in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

4


	13. A moonlight stroll

**Alright so as I said in the last chapter, I started university and I don't always have time to write these days so you're going to have to be patient. So for now, just READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! I'm trying here.**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 12

A moonlight stroll

**Bella****'s Point of View**

It was strange, being beside Edward like this. We were walking through the garden, the moon shining down upon us, and it felt at peace. Edward strolled through the garden slowly with his hands behind his back, his masculine form shining in the moonlight, as if he was made of small diamonds. His green eyes seemed even more remarkable when looking at him in this light, better than in the sun.

"I'm terribly sorry about my brother's behaviour at the table. He is not normally like this," Edward explained, keeping his slow pace. Following beside him, from time to time, I would look up at his face and now he was smiling. It was ever so slight but nevertheless, the smile was still there.

"It's alright. He had every right to. I suppose I'm not the type of guest you normally receive…" I answered back, looking at my feet while walking.

"That last part of your sentence my be true but the rest is faulty. My brother is very mature when it comes to having guests but he has never reacted this way," Edward explained, looking at me now as we walked. His calm, collect features made my heart beat slightly frantically. But that also resulted with Edward's looks and his gentleness. To know that I was a thief and still want to be close to me… that was amazing. And who would have thought that it would be a prince that would be standing beside me, having a calm and lovely conversation with me while strolling under the moon? "I shall have a conversation with him soon enough Bella."

"It's alright your maj—" Getting a slightly frightening look from Edward, my mouth became shut and I cleared my throat. "It's alright Edward. I deserve it after being what I am. And your brother seems to be only thinking about the fact that I am a thief, which is what he should be doing. What everyone should be doing."

"Once again, that is faulty. Alice adores you. Mother and Father both like you and Rosalie… well Rosalie and my brother seem to be different cases," Edward said, looking forward once again.

"Does she hate me as well?"

"She's neutral. Not desiring to get involved in everything that is happening, nor does she intend to get in Jasper's way, especially considering how angry he was. But… I don't believe that she 'hates' you," Edward said, turning to look at me for a few seconds.

Meeting his eyes, I tripped over my own feet and began falling forward but Edward reached out and caught my good arm, steadying me on my feet. Clumsy me… But, Edward seemed to chuckle at my small fall. "Unbelievable…"

"What?" I looked at him and saw him chuckle even more, meeting my brown eyes with his beautiful emerald ones. A slight smile played on my lips as he chuckled and looked at me with a beautiful smile. "What's so funny?"

"I have seen you stealthily move from balcony to balcony and yet you trip over your own feet if you do not look at your feet when you walk. It's unbelievable…" Edward said with a slight chuckle. Rolling my eyes at him, we sat down on a bench in front of a fountain, looking up at the moon. Looking at Edward's features, he was smiling, as if this were something that he had not done in a long time. As if simply sitting here and looking at the moon was the best thing that had happened to him all day. Maybe in a few days or weeks. "It's so wonderful out here… The moon reflecting on us… It's peaceful."

"Yeah, it is," I said, still looking at his features. When he turned to look at me, I reverted my gaze immediately to the moon, making him chuckle again. Oh no… He'd seen that. Damn it. Clearing my throat, we both looked up at the sky and gazed up at the moon.

"There has been one thing that has baffled me about you, Bella," Edward said after a few minutes of silence. Looking at him, our eyes met for a few seconds and it seemed as though my heart skipped a beat.

_No, I can't think like that. He's a prince and soon, I'll go back to the dungeons and rot there for days on end, _I thought, looking away slowly, not too quickly as to make him believe that something is wrong but to make him believe that the garden is interesting me at the moment. At least… that's what I wanted to make him believe.

"And what might that be…?"

"What has made you turn towards thieving?"

"Oh… that thing…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him looking at me now. What… did he find so interesting in me? Well, that is the question to ask if he _was_ interested in me, which I doubt. I mean, who could be interested in a thief and a street rat such as myself? The answer: no one. Not even a prince such as the beautiful man in front of me… This was a simple crush that would go away with time… I think. His interest in me must be the same: a sort of crush that would just go away in a VERY short time.

Sighing, I began explaining him the same story I had once given Alice simply a few hours ago. He seemed, surprisingly, very interested in it and didn't interrupt once during the explanation. When finishing, he began asking a few questions, such as 'was it hard to teach your brother to read?' or 'how did you feel during all of those years, having to steal for a living?'. It was hard sometimes to answer him but otherwise, it was… comforting. Talking to Alice was great and now, letting my feelings out towards Edward feels like a giant weight had just been taken off my shoulders. For years, my brother and I kept these little secrets to ourselves but now, opening up to these royals—yeah, I know. Doesn't really make much sense—helped me in this dire time.

"I'm sorry you've had such a burden to bear for so many years," Edward answered after the questioning. He actually sounded… sympathetic. Did he care? I doubt it. I'm nothing more than a street rat to everyone, including him.

"Um… thanks…" I said, looking around the garden. "You have a lovely garden…"

Trying to change the subject, he looked around as well and nodded. "Mother loves to garden. She tries as much as possible to tend to the flowers but is, most of the time, caught up with meetings with Father and so the servants take care of them for her until she can herself," Edward explained, standing up and walking over to a freesia. Standing as well, my feet instantly led to way to him and my senses detected an extremely sweet smell. Of course, the fragrances of the numerous types of flowers around us made it harder to detect the freesia's scent but, leaning in close, its fragrance nearly smelled like strawberries. "These are Mother's favourite flowers. She loves the smell; it reminds her of—"

"Strawberries?" I answered, looking up at him.

"Why yes. Exactly right," Edward said, smiling. Suddenly, a cold breeze swooped through the garden and sent chills up my spine. Shivering ever so slightly, his smile faded and he seemed to have noticed my slight shiver. "Maybe we should return to our quarters."

"I'm alright. It was only a breeze," I said, feeling another one pass by. Damn this temperature… It's a beautiful night and the cold Persian weather has to go and ruin it. "Oh god…"

"We can always return to the garden tomorrow. I will be gone with Father and Jasper for most of the day for a hunting trip but we shall be back before dinner," Edward explained, placing a small hand on my back and turning us towards the entrance, removing his hand from my back and walked towards the doors.

Following him, we looked in front of us, not daring to look at one another now. For some odd reason… I _wanted_ to look at him. So badly… But why though? What was with all these emotions that ran through me at the sight of him? It has only been a few days that we've met each other and now, all I wanted to do was to be around him. It wasn't normal… Something must be wrong with me. But, as we walked, I refrained myself from looking at his gorgeous emerald eyes and muscular body…

We arrived at the doors to our rooms slowly and we finally looked each other in the eye. His eyes were so emerald, I could simply drown in them and be content in death. "Shall I see you for breakfast?" Edward asked, looking down at me.

"Um… if I'm allowed…" I said, looking slightly down nervously. Would I be allowed to eat with him again? Would I get _a_ meal ever again, especially with what happened at supper today? Maybe… the odds weren't very good, in my opinion.

"Of course you're allowed. It's an absurd thing to think that you won't be." Edward looked outside and seemed to sense the time. Maybe, being in the palace and all, he was able to distinguish the time by the way the moon and the sun are in the sky. It's not surprising. I tried doing that but it was a fail. All I knew was when was dawn, morning, afternoon, twilight and evening. "It's late. Best get to sleep to have a fresh start tomorrow," Edward said, turning his eyes back to me. He smiled a wonderful smile that made my heart skip a beat and continued speaking. "I bid you a good night Bella," were his last words before walking to his room right next to mine and entering it soundlessly.

Watching him go, it took me a few minutes before opening the door and entering the room. I still couldn't get over how beautiful this room was… It wasn't something that should be lent to someone like me. Edward did say that he would be gone most of the day. Maybe I could try exploring a little. Walking over to the window seat, I sat down and looked out over the scenery. And the scenery reminded me of Emmett again. How was he dealing at the moment? Was he alright? Was he even alive…? No. Emmett was strong enough to deal through anything. Even without me…

One question ran through my mind while looking at the surroundings. Why didn't I just escape right now? Why didn't I just use the sheets and try to escape against the walls? Go back to Emmett? It would be so much simpler that way; things would go back to normal.

But there was one answer to it: I didn't want to. I didn't want to leave Edward…

**Emmett's Point of View**

Laurent had been faithful. He had been able to get the equipment and man work that I needed for this plan to be executed perfectly. Now, we were only days away—which seemed like agonizing days, not knowing if Bella would be able to make it before I got to her or if she was still alive—before breaking and entering the castle and getting my sister back.

Sitting in the small room Bella and I had once shared, I stared at the golden necklace Bella had stolen that unfaithful day she was nearly caught by the guards. It held so many wonderful memories of the past… those days Bella and I went to the waterfalls just looking at the scenery, her teaching me to read and write, trips to town… everything. I missed Bella so much. She was the only family left and now she's gone. In a dungeon.

Gripping the golden necklace, my eyes closed and Bella's smiling face came into view. Should it be better if I returned this necklace? Bella had gotten caught because she had stolen something… with my help. It was always the two of us going out to steal. She usually didn't act alone. But now, Bella did. And I let her get captured.

Why didn't I fight for her? There should have been something that I could have done. But that last look that she gave me… it was telling me that she didn't want anyone finding her. Or anyone to get caught because of her. I wasn't a good brother to her…

But I would make it up to her.

Standing up, my feet walked robotically towards the window and my body propelled itself out of it, landing safely on my feet, like I'd practiced so many times with Bella. Running towards the meeting place, Laurent and I would make our plan official and go over the plan many times before we broke Bella out of jail.

_I'm coming Bella. Don't you worry. You'll be safe again._

**So what did you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Thought it could be better? Let me know in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

7


	14. Angela

**Alright so sorry that it took a little while to get this chapter in but I wanted to get into the rhythm of school first and then see how I can do with the chapters. Seems as though I'll be able to do school and write at the same time during the week so you might get some chapters sooner or later. I'm sorry but we'll just have to see. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter so please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 13

Angela

**Bella****'s Point of View**

When waking up, Edward had already left with his father and brother. Opening my eyes this morning, they darted around the room very slowly, taking everything around me. This isn't how a rotten street rat such as myself is supposed to be… The dungeons seemed the most likely place my eyes should open to in the morning.

Getting out of bed, my fingers felt the soft fabric of the pyjamas, trying to remind myself that, for some reason, Edward wanted me up here with the royals instead of downstairs in the dungeons with the other peasants of the streets. Why couldn't I accept that fact? It was illogical, sure. But… after three days of being here, it should start to be normal to be surrounded by royalty.

Yeah right! Faith was just having fun in some sick way and making me paranoid at the moment, up to the point where I will turn insane in trying to find the reason behind my stay here. Maybe it should be best to simply let the events unfold…

My stomach began to growl slightly and so, getting dressed fairly quickly with anything laying around—unfortunately, it was all silk or satin, all royal clothing—and walked towards the kitchen. A few of the servants looked at me with a disgusted look and walked right past me, tending to their chores. So it was official. Every servant in this castle hated me because of Edward's impulsiveness.

Sighing, I walked inside the kitchen and found more servants who gave me repulsed looks. But there was one face that seemed familiar: the girl Edward had called Angela last night at dinner. She looked up and smiled at me. "Hello there," Angela said, chopping a few pieces of lettuce.

"Angela right?" I asked, walking over to her. The other servants seemed to be unable to stand in the same room as me but as they had to make the meal, they were unable to leave. So, they turned their backs and tried to ignore me.

"That's right. And you must be Bella. I heard your name being mentioned quite a few times last night," Angela said, looking up at me before looking back at the food she was chopping.

"Yeah, that's right. Need any help?" I mentioned, pointing to the lettuce.

"Oh, that's alright. I'm nearly done," Angela responded softly, her voice calming me somehow. She seemed really sweet, very friendly.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can do something to help, if you want any help that is," I answered, trying my best to be useful around here. Ever since Edward brought me out of the dungeons, it feels as though I'm simply here to stand around and watch others do everything for me, which was not me at all. I've always been out in the actions with Emmett or going out on my own to get our meals, not stuck in a room—or in this case a castle—doing nothing but watching.

Angela looked at me and smiled slightly. "How about you chop those carrots while I begin stirring the soup together?" She said, placing the lettuce aside and moving towards a large oven with a black pot in the middle, right above a small burning fire.

Smiling, I washed my hands under the water and, after drying them, began chopping several carrots. Angela stirred the contents in the pot and looked at me from time to time. It felt good to do something again. And at least Angela didn't judge me like the other servants around here. Why did I keep telling myself they were servants? They are just regular people like me but living in a castle… serving… the royals. They were simply regular people just like me; that's what I had to keep telling myself. Angela turned and began cutting tomatoes into thin slices but I wanted to know more about this kind girl. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Nearly five years. They brought me in when I was thirteen. And the King and Queen have been very kind to me ever since. They even gave me a room to share with Ben, one of the servants who work in the garden. He's very kind," Angela said, her smile becoming wider slowly as she thought of this Eric guy.

Looking at her, I smiled and she locked her eyes within mine. "Do you like this Benjamin person?" I asked, cutting the last of the carrots.

"We've been a couple for the last few months now. We tried to keep it secret for as long as we could but Princess Alice found out about us and seemed ecstatic to let us stay together while we were here. We do appreciate her more now for this," Angela explained, placing the tomatoes in a circle on an oval plate. "He's so sweet… Always impeccable with me. And he always knows the right things to say. I don't think I've met anyone better than him before."

"You seem very happy with him in your life," I said, smiling. I think we'd only met each other just last night but it seemed as though we had known each other for a long time. "So you're eighteen?"

"Yes, or nearly. I turn eighteen officially in three weeks," Angela answered, cutting a few pieces of bread and placing them in a circle in the center of the plate, placing a few grapes and other fruits in the middle of the circle of bread. She had quite the talent for meals. They looked fabulous, arranged in that style.

"Your work is amazing…" I whispered, amazed by her culinary work.

"Thank you. Jessica, one of the other workers here in the kitchen, has helped me in the beginning. Now, we speak but only about gossip in the castle," Angela said, her tone indifferent. Maybe she didn't like it as much talking about gossip as others did around the city and inside the castle. "I would much rather talk about other important things than rumours. Mostly, she talks about you and the Prince. And especially about the fiasco of last night…"

"Yeah, might not have been the best thing to come to dinner last night…" I answered, looking at the servants once more. But they still had that disgusted, repulsed vibe hanging around them. It wasn't unnatural but the feeling still hurt.

Angela followed my gaze and chuckled slightly. "Don't worry about them. They are simply jealous that the prince has found someone and it's not them."

"What do you mean, found someone?"

"Have you seen the way he looks at you? He's smitten by you and, unfortunately, everyone here can tell. And these girls are very jealous," Angela explained, her smile fading at her outspoken thought.

"How can they be jealous? I'm a simple street rat. They've got the life living here. I've got nothing. I don't even know why I'm here in the first place. I'm supposed to be down in the dungeons with the rest of the prisoners…" I responded sadly.

"You don't see yourself clearly, do you?" Angela began, turning her face towards me and smiled warmly. How was it that I could open up better around her more than anyone else, even Alice and Emmett? Angela seemed like the caring type, someone who you could lay your heart out to and get some comforting advice back. Shrugging, she laughed slightly and began peeling potatoes with a small knife. "Maybe you should look at yourself more deeply, Bella. It will help you in the long run."

"How do you know so much about all of this? I mean, we just met one another and it seems as though—"

"We've known each other forever?" Angela finished my sentence with a smile, as if she knew something that I didn't—which wouldn't be a first. "That's because we kind of have…"

"Ok, you lost me."

"You remember that little girl you used to give an apple to nearly every single day for a few weeks, the one who was sleeping by a well and was ecstatic to see you every day so that she could get her food for the day?" The memory seemed a little fuzzy but a small girl with light brown hair and small but soft light brown eyes, curled up by a well. The first time I had seen her was when I was twelve. The little girl looked about a few months older than I was and… Angela was a year older than me.

"You're the little girl," I answered, my eyes widening. Angela smiled and nodded slowly, still keeping her gaze locked on me. "Wait, how did the royals bring you here in the first place?"

"The King and Queen were on their horses and were looking for new servants and found me. They had pity when seeing me all those years ago and brought me to the castle. Usually, they get new servants every year and let the others go back to their families but since I have none left, they let me stay here and be the official cook. I quite love the art of cooking and it's quite generous of them to let me stay in the warmth," Angela explained, looking down at the food and touching them softly with her fingertips.

"I should have brought you to our place. As small and cramped and dangerous as it may be, you would have had shelter and food and safety…" I said, my voice cracking slightly. Angela had been so frail and looked in dire need of a home and everything… Why hadn't I brought her with me back to our place? Well, if I had, she wouldn't have this opportunity to stay in this beautiful castle and find Ben.

"Don't worry about it. You did more than anyone else would have ever done, Bella." Angela smiled at me and began placing the food that she had been brushing with her fingertips into a basket before going back to finish her food in a few seconds flat. When finishing the lunch meal and placing the rest of the food in a basket, Angela began walking towards the door with a smile on her face. My mind drifted from the basket to Edward and back to the basket as Angela was about to take hold of a long piece of rope attached to a bell.

"Where are you taking the rest of that food?" I asked before she grabbed the cord, wondering for myself what they did with the rest. They better use it wisely… Anyone on the street would be dying for food at this point in their lives. Look at Emmett and me for instance. And even Angela. We barely had any food; anything that would be considered food didn't last very long and wasn't even substantial. If they were simply throwing it away, then that food could easily be given to those on the streets that are dying of hunger.

"A little of this is going to the prisoners and the rest is going on the market to be sold. Why do you ask?" _A little of this is going to the prisoners…_ Barely anything, probably. And they wouldn't get any more if no one… did anything… I could do something useful here. It would give me some purpose and guilt would maybe stop following, if only for a short time.

Walking over to Angela, I asked: "Do you mind if I take a basket of that food…? I kind of have something planned for some of it. Besides, the merchants have too much food to sell anyways. A little of that won't hurt anyone, will it?"

"Not that I know of… The guards barely notice us anyways. But you'll need to be accompanied by someone wherever you go. It's the law, well what I've been told anyways," Angela said. Great… so they have someone babysitting me now? All because I'm a street rat…Sighing internally, Angela smiled and handed me the basket. "How about we go down to the dungeons now and we can deliver the rest of the food to the merchants coming to the castle in a little while?"

"How did you…?"

"You're an open book. Easy to read. But I can see your devotion for the prisoners down in the dungeons and it's admirable. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about that. It shows that you care for others. I should know," Angela said before opening the door and we stepped out of the kitchen, walking towards the dungeons.

We walked down to the cellars and passed the guards, telling him that we were here to bring the prisoners their lunch. Looking at the prisoners, they eyed me the same way the servants did: with disgust and revulsion. Angela gave food to half of the prisoners while I gave the other half, trying to offer them some of my condolences for being above ground while they were stuck here. They accepted the food but gave me the most hatred looks I had ever seen in my entire life. A pang of hurt and guilt ran through me but, when giving the food to them, it seemed to reassure me slightly. But, nonetheless, it was a good deed done. Looking at the prisoners, I wanted to tell them how much I wanted to be in their place right now, not staying up with the royals while they waited here to die. But I had to keep it in, just to be strong.

Angela and I walked up the stairs when finished and went towards the main gate, ready to give the food to the merchants. But my mind always returned to the gazes the prisoners gave me. Would I soon return there…? Join them?

We'd just have to wait and see.

**Ok so what did you guys think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Good but could be better? I wanted to introduce officially the Angela version of this story and I thought it was well written but I could be mistaken so please let me know what you think in some REVIEWS! I've been getting less and less reviews for this story so I'm wondering if it's what I'm writing or the fact that everyone's busy… well, we'll just have to see.**

**Bellacullenswan17**

8


	15. The rescue

**Alright so here's the chapter that I think you all have been waiting for so without further ado, READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 14

The rescue

**Emmett****'s Point of View**

Everything was all set up. All we needed to do now was execute the plan. Laurent had assembled a group of several street rats such as myself and we had our gear and equipment for the heist. Unfortunately, it took us five days to plan, practice and assemble everything. It was agonizing to know that my sister might not be alive at the moment or to make her wait for me to save her. What if we were too late? What if they had already sentenced her—not that I know any of this stuff anyways—and that she was no longer in the castle?

I couldn't think like that. Bella was tougher than anyone I knew and she would survive through this, if not for me but for herself. And, no matter what, I was going to get my little sister back.

Looking at Laurent, he seemed to be shaking a little. Little coward… always looking for some way to save his hide when it was at stake. All through the week, he tried to flee from this plan of ours and save his ass while we were risking ours. And every single time he tried, I would pull him back and—I know that if Bella was here, she would give me a good speaking to—threatened him to the point of him nearly wetting himself. You have to admit, that would have been funny to see. But this situation wasn't, in any way, amusing. It was serious. Deadly even. If we screwed this up even for one second, then we would never get Bella back, or stay alive for that matter. The guards would kill us in the instant or bring us in the dungeons for treason. At least I would be with Bella again.

God… did I miss her kind smile, her humorous laugh, her need for action, everything about her. Her presence always made me smile and want to protect her like any big brother should, and I haven't done that. But I will now. From now on, we would do everything together, not separately. And her wound needed to be checked as soon as we got her out of there. Bella would come first. Always. I wouldn't lose my little sister again.

Laurent and the six other men he had hired for this heist got their weapons and tools and, as soon as everyone was ready, we began running towards the castle, staying in the shadows as nightfall fell quickly.

The cold Persian night, its cold night air wrapping all of us like a veil, came slowly through the hours. It took nearly an hour for us to reach the border of the castle but we had finally reached it, kneeling down in front of a bush near the west wall. Laurent was still shaking, his dark skin blending in perfectly with the darkness around us but the others weren't as lucky. In fact, Laurent had gotten the palest men around the city but at least they were strong and fast. They would be able to help us in this rescue. Thankfully, my tanned skin helped me blend in with the darkness—not as well as Laurent but still well enough to get passed a few tired guards.

Looking at the castle, my mind reeled on what could be happening to my little sister right now. All week long, my imagination ran through all of the possibilities of Bella being hurt or tortured or left suffering on the cold hard floor…. Bella might be strong but, with her wound, she wouldn't have lasted very long. No one would have…

But now wasn't the time to think like that. I had to focus on the task at hand: getting inside the dungeons and get Bella out. It was the only way.

"Alright, so you said the dungeons are in the lowest part of the castle?" I asked Laurent, making sure his information was correct.

Laurent nodded and pointed slightly towards the bottom part of the wall that connected with the Persian sand. There were a few bars against the wall. But, unfortunately, there were guards as well. So we needed to find some way to get inside. "The back entrance to the dungeons is locked and guarded so, looking at the scheme of the castle, you can climb the wall and somehow make your way just over the castle. There will be some twists and turns but you'll get to the dungeons in fifteen minutes, tops," Laurent explained, pointing nearly fifty meters away from the dungeon bars and pointed up the wall. There weren't many guards in that section of the castle wall and so it would be easier to get in undetected. "Three guards are positioned on the side of the wall where you're supposed to climb so you need to start moving if you're going to get inside."

"Wait a second, what do you mean 'you'? You're coming too, you little coward," I said, grabbing hold of his collar roughly and bringing his face closer to mine. His eyes shined with fear, which made this even better. "Got it?" Laurent nodded quickly and frightfully, making me release his collar. Good thing he was afraid of me or else this would never work and he would have never helped me. We walked towards the others and Laurent started to take out the sleeping darts we would use on the guards in front of the dungeons. "Are you sure they're going to work?"

"It worked on you, had it not?"

Laurent was right. A few days ago, we had been preparing our equipment and Laurent had come across a few sleeping darts. Not trusting him, I wanted to know if they worked and he had used one on none other than me. Apparently, that sleeping dart had knocked me out for three hours. They were tiny but worked wonders.

"Don't try to be smart with me, Laurent," I threatened, glaring at him. Laurent didn't say anything more and looked back at the guards right in front of the castle wall. They seemed to be our main threat at the moment. Disposing—or putting them to sleep in this case—of them was our first priority. "Alright, do it."

Laurent placed the darts in a bamboo tube and positioned it towards the first guard to the left. Laurent looked at the man—Eric, I think his name is—and Eric copied Laurent's movements, positioning his bamboo straws towards the guard on the right. At the same instant, they blew into the straws and the darts flew towards the guards, hitting them in the back of their hands. The guards seemed stunned and, in an instant, looked drowsy and collapsed to the floor, their weapons falling in the heap of sand in front of them.

"Go, go, go!" I whispered, running towards the wall with the several men following at my tail.

We swung our grappling hooks for a few moments before releasing them and letting them launch in the air, attaching them to the top of the wall and lodging them securely. We began heaving ourselves up the rope, trying desperately to keep a strong hold and to reach the top. We pulled and pulled but unfortunately, one of the men—Mike I believe his name was—couldn't hang on to his line and fell down nearly a hundred feet, falling in the sand painfully. Who knows if he survived the fall…? I wanted to go back and check but my sister's life was at stake. It was sand. I'm sure that Mike would be alright.

Climbing to the top of the wall, all of us were panting. We crouched and started walking towards a flight of stairs, seeing no guards come our way. But unfortunately, we weren't all very stealthy and small so one of the guards spotted us and screamed. He came rushing and, considering I was the leader of the group and the one ahead of everyone, the guard rushed towards me. But he was easy to take out.

The guard tried to swing his sword towards me but I dodged just in time, flaking to the left slightly and letting his sword wiz past me. Grabbing his wrist, I bent my arm and slammed my elbow against his nose, breaking it on impact. Twisting his arm when he began reaching for his broken nose, he screamed slightly in pain and released the sword, letting Tyler—one of the other men on our squad—grab it and position the tip of the blade towards the guard. Letting go of the guard's wrist, I punched him square in the right temple and he fell against the stone rock, knocking him instantly unconscious. Checking for a pulse and finding one, we all ran away from the guard and ran down the stone steps, trying to avoid getting caught again. Unfortunately, we could hear the sound of blades brushing against leather as they ran towards the noise on the wall. We hid in the shadows and hoped that they would not find us.

For once in my life, luck was on our side.

We moved quietly through the grounds, passing by an amazing garden that shined in the moonlight. It was magnificent… Bella would love to see a garden like this. Too bad she would never get the chance.

Laurent guided us towards the dungeon entrance, shaking the entire time. It was now or never for him to flee and you could see that he wanted to so badly. But, with the reputation I held at the moment, he wouldn't dare try anything. We ran and ran, hoping not to get caught by some guards and our luck ran out. Three guards were waiting by the dungeon entrance, obviously doing their job of keeping watch over the entrance in case some prisoners escaped or tried to anyways. We ran towards them and, taking one for myself, the other split into two groups of three and attacked the guards, trying to knock them unconscious.

Crouching at the last minute, the guard tried to attack me but missed his target: my heart. Punching his elbow, it snapped upward, making a large cracking sound form in the air. Kicking at his bent knees, he fell to the floor and luckily landed head first, rendering him unconscious. The others didn't have such good luck. Laurent had fled the scene—naturally—while the other men fought the guards, seeming to be able to take them down but with slight difficulty.

Tyler looked at me and, as he sparred against the second guard, he screamed: "Go! We can handle this! Save your sister!" And that was enough to get me running towards the open entrance.

Apparently, the commotion had placed the guards inside the dungeon on high alert and two showed up to block my path to the cells. With the will to get to Bella burning strongly inside of me, I punched both of the guards in a vertical uppercut and knocked them both backwards, running past them towards the cells. The prisoners had begun to sit up and look through the bars to see what the commotion was about but my only priority was to find Bella.

Looking through every cell in the dungeon, my heart began to sink. Bella wasn't here. She wasn't in any of the cells. Not a trace of her… This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't… My Bells was gone. But… I could feel that Bella was still alive. Or was my feeling misleading me at the moment, making my judgements cloudy and distraught? Bella was the one thing that held me to the ground, to the last line of our family, and she was gone… How could this have happened? Our lives weren't supposed to be this complicated…

As I stood there, shocked over the new turn of events, the members of the squad began running down the stairs towards me, panting with exertion. "Emmett, we need to leave. Get Bella and let's go," Eric answered in a rush, looking back at the entrance.

"She's not here…"

"What?"

"SHE'S NOT HERE!" I screeched in fury, punching the bars in frustration, anger and sadness. My little sister was gone. She was nowhere to be seen. Had they sentenced her already? Condemned her to death for stealing? If so, then I should die with her. We worked together, not just her—although, knowing Bella, she would have told them that she worked alone and left me out of it—acting alone. "She's not—"

Suddenly, the sound of guards approaching the dungeons came to us, making us turn towards the entrance. This wasn't good. If they ambushed us now, we wouldn't be able to get out of this alive. We all looked at each other and knew what to do. We had to leave this place, leave this dungeon… leave Bella if she was still alive somewhere.

"We have to go. Now," Tyler answered, running towards the entrance along with the rest of the men. They were afraid of getting caught. Some of them had done some awful acts in their lives, worse than stealing, and so if they got caught, they would be immediately sentenced to death, not like Bella. My poor little sister…

Looking back at the dungeon, the idea of Bella being here lingered in my mind. But she wasn't anymore, which made my heart sink with sadness. Bella… _I'm so sorry that I failed you_, was my last thought before closing my eyes and running out of the dungeons after a few seconds. But that gave the guards enough time to circle me when exiting the dungeons. Not good. They were definitely going to capture me now and lock me away.

"Emmett?" A soft, caring female voice rang through the night, snapping me out of my attempts at stopping the dozens of guards in front of me. That voice… I recognized that voice all too well.

Bella.

She was standing a few feet away, looking at the commotion in front of her, her brown eyes widening as she saw the extent of this suicidal attempt at rescuing her. But Bella wasn't dressed the same. She looked… royal, fierce. She had luxurious golden clothes on, her wounded arm no longer in pain or bleeding. Had it been healed? She was alright. My little sister was alright! But why was she here with them and not down in the dungeons? Why was she above ground?

"Bella…" I whispered, dodging at the last minute one of the guards nearly chopping my head off. But the guard did graze my neck, making it bleed ever so slightly. Bella saw the commotion and began running towards me and instantly made a left turn towards the wall when she was near the guards. When arriving at the wall, she ran and began running up the wall, running halfway up its marble texture before pushing herself to the side, jumping in between the half circle of guards on the verge of attacking me. As she did a back-flip, her right foot was placed on the blade of one of the guards and made it flip out of his hand, the hilt of the blade hitting the guard in the chin and sending him backwards painfully. Bella grabbed the blade when it spun out of the guard's hand and landed beside me, ready to attack the guards if they ever counterattacked us. Both of us were back to back, ready to defend ourselves if necessary. "What the hell is going on? And what are you wearing?" I asked, looking at the guards in front of me.

"I'll explain later, if we survive this," Bella said, her back pressed against mine and preparing for an attack. Always ready to protect everyone. God have I missed her…

The guards swarmed in on one another and were about to attack when suddenly, a strong female voice was heard and it sounded like an angel speaking. "What is all the commotion?" The angel spoke and walked towards us. She seemed to be the most beautiful person in the world… Nothing could compare to her beauty. This tall, statuesque woman had long, blonde wavy hair that seemed to go down to her middle back and fit perfectly with her emerald green eyes. In the moonlight, her skin seemed to shine beautifully. This golden goddess seemed to radiate beauty, elegance, class and royalty. She was beautiful…

"Princess, we've caught the criminal who tried to enter the castle," One of the guards said, keeping his gaze locked on me.

The Princess looked at me and smiled ever so slightly, barely noticeable, before looking at Bella. "Ah, Bella, maybe you can explain the situation with more dept. Who seems to be this mysterious criminal?" The Princess asked; her voice so soft and beautiful.

"Princess Rosalie, this is my brother, Emmett. He tried to save me. Please don't take him in, I'm begging you. He never meant to hurt anyone," Bella pleaded to Rosalie, begging her with her eyes. The Princess turned her attention back to me and seemed to stare me down intently, deciding what to do with me. Bella stood protectively in front of me now, hoping that the Princess would let me go unpunished. I doubt it… "Please…"

Princess Rosalie sighed and waved the guards away. They willingly obeyed and stepped aside, allowing me to see her perfectly. God was she beautiful… "Bella, your brother may live but he is your responsibility. He shall stay in your quarters so that we may both check upon you and he will be in the same position you are at the moment: an undecided criminal. Do you understand?" Rosalie asked, staring Bella deep in the eyes. Did they have some history together or something? What was going on…?

Bella nodded and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Princess," Bella thanked her before taking my hand and walking away from the guards and from the beautiful princess.

As we walked by one another, our eyes met for a brief instant and it seemed to be all it took. Something seemed to click inside of me and, as we walked away, my feeling seemed to grow. I wanted to get closer to this woman… this beautiful goddess.

As Bella brought me to a large set of doors, I stopped her and turned her around to face me, looking closely at my little sister for the first time in a week. "Bella, what the hell just happened? Why are you up here? And why did she let me go saying I was like you?" I asked, totally confused at the moment. Why wasn't I being thrown in the dungeon along with Bella?

"I'll explain everything inside Emmett, I promise," Bella said before opening the large door and entering a very large room. It looked amazing… open view, large bed, bathroom, everything imaginable. How did she get this? Looking at Bella, she wrapped her arms tightly around me and buried her face in my chest. "I missed you so much Emmett… I can't believe you're here," Bella said, nearly crying into my dirty shirt. Wrapping my arms around her small frame, I closed my eyes and held her close, not believing that she was here with me. After all this week, I had finally found her.

We sat on the balcony overlooking the city and she began explaining the entire story from being brought to the dungeon to meeting Angela the cook to now. And it all seemed so bizarre but right. Bella didn't deserve to stay in a dungeon. And she was starting to fall in love with the prince. It seemed forbidden but she was my sister.

I would accept her choices… considering the fact that I wanted to get closer to the Princess, just like she wanted to get closer to the Prince. Such a complicated life. But at least I had my sister back. Bella was here and she was safe. We all were.

**Alright so what did you think about the little rescue scene? Did you like it? I hope you did… If not, then please tell me what I could have improved on. So PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

11


	16. The newcomers

**Alright so sorry for the wait but I had university that started and everything was very hectic and I wanted to finish one chapter of my other story and many things came up. But here it is and I hope you guys like it. So please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 15

The newcomers

**Bella's Point of View**

I couldn't believe that my big brother was here, with me. It almost seemed unreal. But it had actually happened. He had gone through all the trouble to get inside the castle with some men from the city and nearly gotten himself sentenced to either imprisonment for life or death all to get me back… Emmett was and is the best big brother anyone could ever ask for.

Edward and I had talked about this and had quite the conversation about it. It still played in my mind today, two days after our talk.

"_Please don't send him away… Please…" I pleaded to a pacing Edward. Seeing him uncertain at the moment was breaking my heart, making me believe that he would take Emmett out of my life once more. _

"_Bella, I do not wish to send him away, as you say, but… this is complicated. The situation is getting more difficult to handle every day…" Edward explained, stopping his pacing and looking at me slowly. _

"_How so? Is it because you brought me out of the dungeons? If so just send me back there. But don't punish my brother please… He doesn't deserve any punishment. He was only trying to—"_

_Edward raised his hand and silenced me in an instant. "You have already pleaded your brother's case, which I have taken into account. And it seems as though Mother and Father are quite fond of you. They would not appreciate my bringing you back to the filthy dungeons at this point," Edward explained, smiling ever so slightly at that remark. It was a shock to hear that the King and Queen were fond of me… I was a street rat, nothing more. Why would they be interested in me? "Why do you look surprised?" _

"_I'm a street rat… A nobody… I don't belong here… I should be in the dungeons paying for my crimes," I explained, looking slightly away from his penetrating gaze. _

_The __sound __of __his __footsteps __could __be __heard __and __the __feel __of __his __fingertips __against __my __chin __sent __electric __currents __through __my __body. __I __believe __this __was __really __the __first __time __he __touched __me __skin __to __skin. __There __were __always __clothes __blocking __his __way __to __my __skin. __But __now, __his __touch __was __amazing. __So __soft __and __inviting. __He __lifted __my __chin __ever __so __softly __and __looked __me __directly __in __the __eye, __almost __like __he __was __forgetting __that __he __was __a __prince __and __I __was __nothing __more __than __a __commoner, __someone __insignificant __in __his__… __eyes__… __But __it __didn__'__t __look __like __I __was __insignificant __to __him. __In __his __eyes, __it __almost __showed __like __he __really __cared __about __me. __Well, __it __had __been __nearly __a __week __and __a __half __that __he __had __captured __me __and __brought __me __out __of __the __dungeons. __Every __day, __we__'__d __been __seeing __each __other, __spending __our __nights __in __the __garden __and __mostly __exploring __different __aspects __of __the __castle __during __the __day. __It __had __been __the __best __week __and __a __half __of __my __life. __Nothing __could __compare __to __it. __And __now, __with __Edward _and _Emmett __here __with __me, __nothing __could __be __better._

"_You don't see yourself clearly Bella. You are much more than a simple 'nobody', as you call yourself. And you have atoned for your crimes every single time you stole from an unlucky and unseeing merchant. You gave part of your provisions to a starving family or child or adult on the street. I believe that, in that single act, you absolutely do not deserve to be sentenced in a dungeon like the others being held down there," Edward explained, his velvety voice and breath rubbing against my skin, making me want to shiver in pleasure. _

_Being close to him ignited so many different feelings in me. It was unnatural, to be feeling such strong emotions for a royal such as himself—this was probably just a simple crush, like anyone else smitten with Jasper and Edward—but they were there and they were yelling at me to act. But I couldn't. Not now, not ever._

"_How do you know…?" I asked, barely above a whisper. His fingertips were still against my chin, having no intention of releasing his hold on me. But I didn't want him to remove it. No, it felt too good… _

"_Because __I __have __gotten __to __know __the __real __you, __Bella __Swan. __And __the __real __you __is __a __kind, __sweet, __caring __person __who __would __do __anything __to __help __the __ones __that __you __are __close __to. __You __have __a __kind __heart __Bella, __not __like __the __prisoners __down __there. __And __besides, __I __am __the __prince, __are __I __not? __My __ruling, __along __with __my __father__'__s __and __my __mother__'__s, __is __law. __And __so, __if __we __decide __to __return __you __to __the __dungeons __or __simply __return __you __to __the __city, __we __shall __do __so __in __time. __But, __for __now, __we __want __you __here, __with __us. __With __me,__" __Edward __explained, __his __smile __widening __ever __so __slightly __when __he __spoke __those __last __two __words. _With me_… __It __was __incredible __to __hear __that __he __wanted __me __to __stay __with __him. __No __one __had __ever __said __that __before__—__well, __besides __Emmett __but __that __doesn__'__t __count__—__and __it __made __my __heart __warm __at __the __sound __of __it.__ "__Do __you __want __to __stay __with __me?__" _

"_Of course… Of course I do… But I want to stay with Emmett as well…"_

"_Then I will do everything in my power to convince my mother and father to permit him to stay here," Edward said, his fingertips moving up my chin and to my cheek, cupping it softly. It felt so right to be here… to be in his hold. Why was that? Why were my feelings so strong for Edward? Why was my heart pulling towards his? These were all questions that ran through my mind every single day that I was with Edward but I tried to push them all aside for the time being. Just being with him was good enough for me. "Do not worry so much Bella. Everything shall work out in the end. I promise you that." And so, leaving our conversation with that point in mind, he kissed my forehead and invited me to visit the Owl's Den. _

With that single kiss, my heart had seemed to leap. What had exactly happened that day? Did Edward start to have feelings for me? But why? There were so many questions running through my mind at that time that it seemed all too early to ask. But they were there nonetheless. And now, as night approached and supper came, the thought still passed through my mind.

"What's got you all tied up in a twist little sis?" Emmett asked, getting dressed in his 'royal' attire. Alice had been able to get the seamstress in the room and made some wonderful new clothes for my brother. Now, he fitted in with everyone.

"Nothing, why do you ask?" I asked, coming out from the Chinese changing curtain.

"'Cause I can tell that you're upset or thinking about something. I've known you long enough Bells. So spill," Emmett said, sitting on one of the pillows in the middle of the room. He absolutely loved the room and never wanted to leave. They'd brought in another bed for Emmett and, of course it made the room smaller but to have Emmett by my side, I couldn't complain. "Come on, spill Bella."

Sighing, I said: "Fine. I've been thinking about that talk with Edward and… I don't know what to expect now. I mean, he doesn't want to send us down to the dungeons but… I don't know. It's all so bizarre… And the way he acts around me. I don't know what to make of it," I explained, going towards him and—seeing as he had opened his arms for me—sitting on his lap.

"Is he hurting you? If he is, I swear to god that I'll kick his ass so hard, he'll—"

"Emmett, you can't try and hurt a prince. That'll get you killed."

"I don't care. If he's hurting you, I'll screw the fact that he's the freakin' prince and I'll kick his ass," Emmett said, wrapping his arms protectively around my small frame and hugged me softly. It felt so great to be back in his arms, to have my big brother back and I simply laid my head on his chest and let him cradle me, just like old times. "I'll protect you Bella. I won't let you get taken away from me again."

"Likewise Emmett. But I have to ask you a question," I said, feeling a small smile tug to my lips at the thought.

"And that would be?" Emmett asked, stroking my back ever so softly. He might be muscled and scary to face when angry but he was the sweetest brother in the world.

"Are you smitten with Rosalie?" For a second, my hands could feel Emmett tense up a little. So he was feeling for her. I knew it.

"I… what? I don't…" Looking up at him, he was trying to hide the lies well but my brother was always a horrible liar. I could always tell when Emmett wasn't telling the truth and now was one of those times. And so, when he saw that his lie was not being bought, he sighed and said: "How did you know…?"

"I see the way you looked at her yesterday. I wasn't sure then but now that I look at you, it's official. It's the same way I look at Edward… At least I think…" was my only reply, looking down slightly when thinking about the way my feelings emerged when Edward was around.

"So you admit you like him!" Emmett cheered, clapping his hands once like a child behind my back. It made me smile to see him so childish at times but it made the bad situations all the more… likeable.

Laughing, I said: "Alright, alright. So I like him. So what? He won't ever love someone like me…"

"You can't say that Bells."

"Why not? I mean, we can't ever be together even if we wanted. I don't belong with him," I replied, feeling sad at the reminder that we could never be together.

"Then you're basically saying the same thing about Rosalie and I," Emmett said and my mind started to replay what had been said and he was right. I had unfortunately said that Rosalie and him couldn't be together, just like Edward and I…

Sighing, my reply was: "That wasn't what I meant Emmett. You're a great guy and she'd be lucky to have you in her life."

"It's the same for him Bells. He would be the luckiest man alive to have you in his life. And frankly, I hope it's the same for Rosalie… I mean, I want to get to know her and everything but does she want to do the same with me? Or am I just another peasant to her?" Emmett asked, looking down at me.

"You'll just have to talk to her. And tonight is the best time." Standing up, my eyes went down to his large frame on the cushion and my hand extended towards his, hoping he'd take it. "Come on, we'd better go to dinner before they drag us there."

Emmett nodded and took my hand, bringing himself up. We both smiled at one another and began walking outside of the room, towards the dining hall. Edward and his siblings were outside the hall, waiting for the King and Queen to arrive I suppose. Edward smiled when he saw me approach and nodded towards Emmett.

"Welcome to dinner. We are waiting for our new guest to appear so, when they arrive, we will be able to eat," Edward explained, mostly looking at me.

The King and Queen approached and two people were with them, walking slowly beside one another. There was an older man and a teenager, seeming to be only two to maybe three years younger than I was. The older man, wearing the crown—I assumed he was a King from a foreign land—looked quite muscular but average-looking for a nearly six feet man. His light brown cropped short hair made him look young, even though he must be quite old by the look of his slightly wrinkled face. But the other younger man… he looked sort of beautiful… sort of. He was near six feet two in size with short raven-black hair. His lanky built figure made the King beside him look like a peasant. Even though his looked too tall for his age, the childish roundedness in his chin made him look young. His russet skin was so different from the man beside him—I wish I could get a tan like that… or maybe he was from a different clan—and his deep-set twinkling dark brown eyes made him slightly wise and mature. Those two looked so different… but they walked the same and stayed close. What was going on? And who were they?

The two men approached Carlisle and the Kings bowed to one another while the russet coloured kid simply stood behind the unknown Lord. "Welcome, Lord James, to Persia," Carlisle greeted, smiling a comforting smile to Lord James. The russet coloured boy looked at me for a second and seemed to smile a little before removing the smile and looking back at Carlisle and Esme.

"Thank you, your highness, for letting us stay in your lovely abode. This is my stepson Jacob. He shall be staying with me until our stay is over," Lord James explained, turning slightly towards Jacob when introducing him and turning back to Carlisle to finish his sentence. "Does that cause a problem?"

"But of course not. Your stepson is more than welcomed here. We have many spare rooms for your guards and yourself, if you would like," Carlisle explained, his smile never fading as he welcomed his new guests to the castle. But something didn't seem quite right about the two newcomers. Something… off, something that I couldn't place my finger.

Edward came closer to me and placed his arm around my waist, placing a soft hand on my hip to… protect me? Emmett stayed close by and he let Edward make his move upon me. Everyone watched Carlisle and James discuss about the newcomers' travel and night accommodations but never made a move towards the dining hall. Jacob eyed me from time to time, simply watching me carefully. But it was strange. Why was he staring at only me and not anyone else in particular? Were my clothes out of place or anything? Did everyone know that I was a street rat living in the castle?

Carlisle asked the Lord and his stepson to begin moving towards the dining hall and everyone followed them, not a word being uttered. Well, especially not from me.

No, what I was doing while everyone talked was watching the newcomers, inspecting them. Making sure they weren't dangerous. Especially Jacob…

**So what did you think? Good? Bad? Good but could be better? Please let me know in some REVIEWS!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

8


	17. Jacob Black

**Ok so here's the new chapter. Long one but here it is anyways. Sorry for the wait. Hope you guys like it. Please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 16

Jacob Black

**Bella's Point of View**

It had been a week since Lord James and his stepson had arrived and they had seemed impeccable… for now. There seemed something odd about him but there wasn't a moment that I could get close to him so far… His uncle would always be with him. Not really a good time to interrogate him.

At times, I tried to forget about the mystery that was Jacob Black but at other times, it seemed to haunt my waking and nights. Jasper had even approached me a few days after the arrival of Lord James and his stepson. It had seemed a little reluctant—as if someone had forced him to talk to me, probably Alice—but didn't seem to have phased about it in the end. He had tried to apologize for his behaviour but there was nothing to apologize for. Jasper had been right to act the way he did. I'm a poor lonely street rat that was taken in and supposed to be a prisoner in this large castle but ended up living in it like I was one of them. He had every right to not trust me and try to send me back to the dungeons. It was natural; I don't see why the others don't see reason and throw me back down to those cold dungeons.

I don't see why _Edward_ doesn't throw me back there… Lately he's been looking at me with a large smile, one that makes my heart skip a beat and takes my breath away, and I keep wondering why that is. Why is he only smiling at me? And… why do I smile back with all my heart being that smile? Did he… like me that way? My feelings for Edward seemed to have elevated ever since my arrival here. And especially with the walks that we take at night in the garden, it seems as though my heart is really going out for Edward Cullen. But, as usual, my thoughts went to one thing: he would never go for me because of the fact that I'm a street rat, a poor person who steals for a living… Why does he like me this way, if he even likes me that way? Why not go for a princess in some distant castle or something? He would be so much happier…

One day, that thought ran through my mind as I was practicing my sword fighting against a dummy made of hay. Edward's beautiful smile, handsome features and wonderful laugh kept running through my head that I didn't hear someone call my name and come up behind me. A scruffy voice had called once again my name and I did not recognize this voice, which made my entire body go into defence mode. And when the small tap on my shoulder occurred, it made me pull that person's leg from under him, making him fall to the floor, and placing the tip of my blade against the hollow of this person's throat. But it turned out that my actions could pain me in the end, and very deeply.

Under the tip of my blade, Jacob Black laid on the floor, his hands up defensively as if my attack scared him. "I mean no harm. Just came here to talk," Jacob answered, his dark eyes never leaving mine. Somehow, looking into those dark eyes, something inside of me knew that he probably did or does mean harm to either myself, Emmett or the Cullens… or maybe all of the above.

"Then talk," was my only cold answer.

"It would be nice if I didn't have a sword pointed at me," Jacob responded a little too snippy for my taste. Looking at him even colder, somehow his boyish figure made me move my sword a little to the side and he was able to breathe again. Looking down at him, he pushed himself up and brushed off the dust from his trousers and brought his eyes up to meet mine. "Thank you. I don't believe that we've been properly introduced yet. My name's Jacob Black," He explained, extending his hand towards me.

Looking down at his hand, I could imagine that rough tanned hand causing harm to me or my family and so my eyes met him again and, with a simple nod, I said: "Bella."

He dropped his hand, said a simple "Ok…" and looked to the side awkwardly before coming back to look at me. "I see you're training alone. Would you like a partner?" My thoughts began to turn into questions. _Why was he here? What is his plan? And why is he being so kind? There has to be some motive behind his actions but what are they?_ A small pang of hesitancy ran through me but then again, it would give me a good opportunity to butcher his head off now… if I would be able to do that. Who knows what his skills at sword fighting were. Maybe he would pin me down in five seconds flat.

Then again, it would be good practice for me. And, as everyone knows, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. He might be my enemy and so it would be good to take this opportunity at hand and make the most of it.

"Alright," was my only answer, grabbing a sword from behind me and throwing it at him, which he caught with ease. Walking back to him, I stood three feet away from him, sword in clutched hand and watched his moves, trying to determine what he would do first. But surprisingly, he simply started circling me and so, I followed each of his steps with one of my own, circling him.

"So… how long have you been in this castle? Your entire life or just recently?" Jacob asked, his blade lifted to my eye level and pointing straight at me. Was he trying to make small talk while we were about to have our blades meet in a torrent of sparks and metal? And why? He would only gain information by asking all of these questions. I didn't know what made me mistrust him so much… maybe the fact that his stepfather seemed so cold and cruel—his eyes expressed it all but that could just be me—that his stepson could be mistrusting as well.

"Not long," was my short answer, which wasn't a lie. In fact, I'd only been here a few weeks, nearly a month. My sword made contact with his and he easily blocked it and parried away, starting to circle me again. It was almost as if he wanted to prolong this session, study me as some experiment and get the information he needed out of me. Well, his plan wouldn't work.

"At least it looks as if you are enjoying your stay here. What brought you here in the first place?" He asked, swinging his sword at me and was easily blocked with a blow of my own.

"Why are you asking all of these questions?" I asked, swinging my sword at him but he easily blocked it once again. How much training did this little brat have?

He rushed at me and our swords clashed in a heap of sparks, our faces just inches away from one another, wondering who would back down against the other's strength. I might not be as strong as he is but at least I would have some skills that he wouldn't.

"Because I would like to get to know you," Jacob answered with a boyish grin, as if this pleased him. "Is that a crime?"

Pushing him back with all my strength, I groaned at his weight and said: "No, but it's annoying!" He chuckled and took a few steps back, barely looking affected. There might have been a few beads of sweat but other than that, he looked stronger than ever while I was panting and my heart rate accelerated. He was toying with me. And enjoying every minute of it, it seemed. How dare he… I might be new to this castle and way of life but it was wrong of royals—or in his case, princes—to treat others the way he treated me.

Jacob began to laugh as we began to circle each other again, our swords raised at eye level. "Alright, then how about I begin our little conversation with a brief explanation of my past? Then maybe we can begin hearing about your life. How does that sound?" He asked, moving his sword a little to the side and shrugging a bit in a gesture that is a little annoying and demands an answer.

Taking this opportunity, I swung my sword and it nearly scratched his chest but he parried it away, looking at me with a slight smirk, as if this amused him. "Then start talking," was my simple answer as I tried to attack him once more with no luck of landing a hit.

"Persistent, aren't you?" Jacob asked, blocking every attack I landed. He was good, that's not something that can be denied. Jacob Black knows his way around a sword easily and could use it at any time if needed. When he received no answer, he began speaking again. "You know, in the short amount of time that I've known you, you don't seem very trustworthy. When he received my glare, he sighed and continued speaking, as if his comment was never said. In fact, I _wish _it had never been said. "Alright, as you wish. I was born in the castle where I come from nearly seventeen years ago. My parents were the king and queen at the time and when I had entered this world, it seemed as though our family was complete. When I was seven, my father had hired a consultant; or Lord James as you know him now." So James had been a consultant back in the day? And for Jacob's parents? How did he get to be a Lord now…? Maybe I would learn later in the story.

"He helped our family for a few years and my parents were grateful but… something happened. One day, our castle was attacked. My mother hid the both of us while my father went and fought. But my father never returned. James told us that my father fled from the fight and was never to be seen again. I tried to find my father but would be stopped every time by James, saying that it was too dangerous for me to search for him, that it was pointless. I kept defying him for months but he would always catch me, tell my mother what my intentions were and she would stop me. But he was my father… I couldn't stop looking for him. After a while, I did stop, seeing as he had been gone for so long. I started to think that he was a coward for leaving as he did, in the middle of a battle. And so my mother and I continued on with our lives," Jacob explained, blocking every blow I landed against him but you could tell that, while telling this story, he wasn't as aware of the battle as he should.

"My mother was devastated by my father's departure. It had seemed as if the life had been sucked from her body. I might have been young but I saw that she had been in love with my father and he was with her. But when he left, it had devastated her, destroyed her. My mother tried to rule the kingdom alone but James had insisted that, to run our kingdom perfectly and correctly, my mother had to marry. She had been against it but James offered himself and somehow, my mother agreed. To me, it was the biggest mistake of her life." His features seemed to change, as if his story was taking a turn for the worst. Somehow, my heart began to soften for him. He had a horrible past, maybe not as worst as mine but it was still quite upsetting, even to hear.

My attacks slowed and so did his. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. What if he was simply making everything up as he went along, trying to soften me so he could hit me hard and hurt me in the end? He wouldn't get the best of me… As the years had gone by after our parents had died, Emmett and I had strengthened our hearts and forced ourselves not to trust easily. Emmett was a little softer than I was but no one would get the best of me. Not easily anyways.

"The months went by and my mother always looked so unhappy. James had become my stepfather and my real father was still nowhere to be seen. A few weeks after I had turned nine years old, I had seen my mother fight with my stepfather. He was so angry at her for some reason I had not heard and it scared me. I was afraid for my mother's life. I didn't know if he would hurt her or not and in the end, he didn't. She walked away and he was just standing there furious at her. I had tried to ask her what was wrong but she would never answer. She would just hold me and rock me, maybe trying to calm herself down.

"One night after dinner, she started becoming ill. A fever broke down and her skin became very pale. Sometimes, she would cough up some blood. The maids had put her to bed rest to try and help her but she never made a recovery. I stayed by her bedside constantly but it didn't improve her condition. My mother had given me a locket with a picture of myself, my real father and herself in it. That was the last thing she had done before dying by my side. James soon remarried to a woman named Victoria and had claimed the throne to himself, only giving me the title of prince even though the throne is rightfully mine. He tried to get me to like him but after my mother had died, it was hard to like anyone, much less him and his new wife. He made me into a stronger person, with years of training and years of teaching me that royalty means that we have power over anyone, even petty peasants. But—"

That struck me to the core. He was just like every other royal—apart from the Cullens—that they believed that they were better than everyone. So I acted on impulse.

He seemed lost in thought at the moment so I stroke out at him, knocking his sword out of his grip. It flew in the air and I used my right leg to loop around the back of his right leg and pulled it out from under him, making him fall to the ground on his back in an attempt to distract him that he can't get back up. Turning around a little, I grabbed his sword and pushed my foot against his chest, placing the tip of his own sword against the crook of his neck, readying my own sword and pointing it at him in case he would make an attempt at escape.

Jacob looked up at me, eyes wide and confused. But suddenly, a small smile erupted on his face. "Very impressive," He said, his smile turning into a grin.

"You mock those who aren't of royal blood, as if they're simple insects that can be stepped on and killed without any remorse. But they are people; people who deserve to live, not die of poverty or famine while the royals eat fancy seafood, laugh down at those who have to work every day for a few mere coins. We're all people who have our own wills and no one controls us," I answered, venom pouring out of my mouth with every word. My anger pooled out of me and there was no stopping it now. It was people like Jacob Black that frustrated me beyond belief. How could they simply disregard us without even considering that we were people just like the royals? That we were human beings? "We're just like you, just without money and food. So how dare you—"

"You're a peasant?" He asked surprised, keeping his hands elevated in a defence position, trying to make me pull back. Damn. I had revealed information about myself that could leak out and endanger myself and Emmett perhaps. "Oh, you're the peasant they caught stealing nearly a month ago. I heard rumours about you." God… what had he heard? And how much trouble could he get me into? And what about Emmett? What would happen to him?

"And what if I am that peasant? Does that mean that I deserve to be treated as if I was dirt? Does it mean that I'm insignificant and can be killed or turned into a slave at the snap of your fingers?" I asked, keeping the tip of his sword against his neck, barely letting him breathe.

"I don't think like that." That sentence made me pull the sword back a little. Didn't he just say that James had taught him that royals had power over everyone, even petty peasants? "My stepfather believes so and has believed that perhaps his whole life but I think differently. I don't believe that peasants deserve their treatment but there is not much that I can do to help this situation. If I were the king instead of my stepfather, there might be something that I could do but there is nothing I can do," Jacob explained, slowly dissipating my anger. So he _was _different from his stepfather… "Now could you please lower your weapon and we can talk in a civilized manner?"

Looking at him and his soft boyish figure, it made my heart cringe a little and my arm lowered, along with the sword. He was able to breathe easily now and stood up, wiping the dust off of his robes. "How did you get to know so much about me?" I asked, looking up at him a little. He was quite taller than me… then again anyone could out-height me.

"I have my sources… I do know a little about you but not a lot. I would like to get to—" He was suddenly interrupted when a guard walked inside and bowed before us, looking at Jacob.

"Your majesty, your stepfather wishes to see you," The guard said.

Jacob nodded and said: "I'll be there shortly, thank you," before the guard bowed and walked out of the training room. Jacob looked at me and smiled a little. "Well, it seems as though our small talk has been interrupted. I do hope that we can talk soon, Bella." He kissed my hand out of courtesy before walking out of the training room, his boyish grin still on his face.

Jacob Black was one strange fellow… but he was truthful and honest. Maybe I should start trusting him.

**Ok I know it's a quick end but I couldn't think of another ending. So here it is. Hope you guys liked it and I would like some feedback in some REVIEWS please!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

10


	18. Unexpected but fantastic

**Alright so here's a long chapter for you guys. I know that it's been a while that you guys haven't had a chapter and I've been trying to make this one really good because of the fact that I wanted the way people talk right down and what would happen in this chapter perfectly so it's taken me nearly a month to get just this down perfectly. So I hope that you guys like it and please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!**

Chapter 17

Unexpected but fantastic

**Bella's Point of View**

A few days had passed since my conversation with Jacob in the training room and I hadn't been able to get it out of my mind. His explanation of his past life just wouldn't leave my mind, as if he wanted me to rethink of him and his intentions, whatever they were. I kept practicing in the training room but never encountered him once again. In a sense, it was a good thing. But… sometimes I wondered if it would be best if I did begin to trust him. Jacob seemed harmless enough, at least at the moment anyways.

Emmett began to become closer to Rosalie and he seemed happier this way. There was always a large smile on his face every single time I saw him. Rosalie also seemed happier—which was saying something about her—and even when she saw Emmett just as a glimpse, she'd smile. Something was going on between those two and it finally brought happiness to my big brother, which I would not ruin. No one would, not if I could help it.

Edward seemed a little distant these days. He would look at me every so often but he was very busy lately. We would no longer walk in the garden or speak as much as we used to. It was, in a way, offsetting but he was a prince after all. Edward must be quite busy and, since I'm just a peasant, he doesn't have much time to be with me. My heart might long for him a little bit but he obviously doesn't feel the same way. I've learned to accept that—slowly but surely—and I would simply look from afar now, that is until he would send me away.

One afternoon, just as I was passing the halls to go towards my chambers, Edward turned a corner and came face to face with me. We both stopped, completely shocked to see each other after a short time apart, and looked at each other longingly, if that was what he was feeling now.

"Bella," Edward breathed out, his scent intoxicating me as it usually did. His emerald green eyes just kept glancing into mine, never making an attempt to leave.

"Edward… what a surprise," I responded, looking up at him. He was taller than me since the start so I needed to look up at him every time we were together. But it didn't matter. He was worth it. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Yes, I am terribly sorry about that. I've been quite preoccupied as of late but everything is alright now," Edward explained, a smile forming on his face, making me smile as well.

"That's great to hear."

"Yes, it is. Would you like to go for a walk with me in the garden? I have quite missed our walks together. And I would like to talk to you about something."

"Um… Alright, as long as you're free, that is."

"I'm always free for you Bella," Edward said, his smile widening as he extended his hand towards me. That was the sweetest thing he had ever said to me… and it made my heart leap and nearly miss a beat. I think it was the first time that he had ever asked me to take his hand before. Normally, we would be at touching length but never touching. And the fact that he wanted to take my hand—even if it was something as insignificant as that—made me smile even more.

I took his hand and we began walking towards the garden, as we normally did at night. It was bizarre to walk with him in the day—since normally, our outings were night time activities—but it felt right, almost natural. Then again, I think that was simply associated with the fact that my feelings were very strong for him and his probably weren't. I've been trying to learn to accept that fact but it's quite difficult… But it shouldn't be. We're from two completely different worlds and it should be normal that he doesn't love me back. I can't get upset over this. There's no point. I simply have to enjoy what little time I might have left with him and embrace the fact that he'll probably send me away very soon, along with my brother—unless Rosalie says something to get him to stay.

As we walked, all thoughts of Edward's rejection left my mind for the time being as Edward began speaking. "I have spoken with Father and Mother about a certain special subject," Edward began, looking down at his feet from time to time as we walked down the white halls.

"Oh? And what might that be?" I asked, hoping that asking this question wouldn't aggravate him.

But my question hadn't even seemed to have fazed him. In fact, his smile seemed to have widened. "I've been discussing with them for a few days now about you and your brother," Oh no… this didn't sound good, "and it's taken an interesting turn around."

My expression seemed to have completely dropped at the mention of this. "Oh…" was my only answer. This could take a horrible turn for the worst. Edward could throw me on the streets right now, right where I belonged along with Emmett…

We'd be going back to our hellhole.

Edward and I arrived in the garden and he looked at me, slowly moving in front of me to stand there with a concerned expression. "Why does it seem as though I have upset you now?" Edward asked, placing a soft hand on my elbow. His touch was so soft… so delicate, as if I would break under his beautiful hand. I guess all of this had to end at some point. And this was this point.

"I suppose I should have known that this wouldn't last…" I said, looking down, not wanting to meet his beautiful eyes and melt under them.

"Bella, what do you mean?" He asked; his lustrous tone full of worry and concern.

"I guess you're about to tell me that I should give you your clothes back and return to the streets with Emmett right? Unless Rosalie has let him stay and I'm the only one being kicked out. I understand though. It's perfectly alright," I answered, never moving my gaze upwards to meet his. What would his face show if I did meet it? Relief that he would get rid of me? Disappointment about the fact that I would be leaving? Confusion, anger, happiness? I didn't really want to know…

"Bella, please look at me," Edward asked, his tone so soft and gentle that my head slowly lifted and our eyes met. In fact, it wasn't relief or disappointment or confusion that ran across his eyes. It was sadness… pure sadness at my words. But why would he be sad? There was no need… was there? Edward cupped my cheek very softly and looked down into my eyes thoughtfully before speaking again. "Bella, we would never want you or your brother to leave. In fact, Mother and Father have allowed Emmett and yourself to stay with us." My mouth opened a little in shock. Had I heard him correctly? His family _wanted_ us to stay here in this gigantic castle, as if we were royals as well? "Rosalie has practically begged our parents to have Emmett stay here and, in fact, I have pleaded my case to keep you as well. You have grown quite fond of you and, if you don't mind me being so bold, I cannot imagine you leaving. Ever. You mean too much to me to ever see you leave," Edward explained, truth embedding every word he spoke. "You mean too much to me to ever let you leave me…"

"You… you want me to stay?" I stuttered, unable to believe it myself. He actually wanted me. All of my fears and doubts were all destroyed in that one moment and hope replaced those two horrible feelings. Hope and happiness and… love.

"Only if that is your wish. I would never want to take away your free will and force you to stay with me. But, in all honesty, I would love it if you would stay here. You could keep the room you are currently in and Rosalie is planning on giving Emmett a room of his own close to hers and—"

"I would love to Edward," I responded, smiling at him. Edward stopped talking and smiled at me, leading me slowly to the bench behind him and letting us sit down. "Thank you for letting us stay here. I know that my brother and I are very grateful for this."

"There is nothing to be grateful for Bella. We have seen, every single member of my family and I, that you and your brother are not criminals. Even though you stole for years, we have looked past that and allowed you to stay here."

"Isn't it against everything you know to forget about my past?" I asked curiously. He repositioned himself so that he could look at me better but that meant that he had moved his legs, which meant that his knees were now rubbing against mine. His touch sent my skin on fire, as if a thousand electrical wires were being turned on inside of me.

"It is but I am not bothered about that fact, nor do I think I will be. My parents are not bothered as well. In fact, they are quite happy to have you stay here, that is if you want to," Edward explained, stroking my hand ever so softly.

"I would like that Edward. Anything and anywhere is better than where we used to live in," I said, sharing a little too much information about myself that he might not even want to know.

Instead, Edward's free hand slowly moved to my cheek and cupped it ever so gently, letting me move my cheek into his palm a little. His thumb began making small motions against my skin as he looked me straight in the eyes. "You'll never have to return to that horrid place ever again, not if you don't want to. You and your brother can stay here as long as you want. You won't ever have to steal for a living and barely eat again. That I can promise you," Edward promised with a hint of sadness to his tone.

It took me a few seconds to respond but words finally escaped my lips. "You really care about us, about me, don't you?"

"More than you could possibly imagine Bella." And then, he started bringing his face closer to mine, placing his forehead against my own, making our noses practically touch one another. His touch made me want to shiver in pleasure but I held it in, not knowing where he would go with this. "You cannot begin to imagine what you do to me Bella, what you make me feel."

He nearly made my heart stop with those simple words. What did he mean? Did I really affect him this way? But why? And how? It wasn't possible. "H... How DO I make you feel...?" I asked shakily, slowly closing my eyes in small bliss. How could one man affect me this way? Did it seem I was affecting him the same way? It was all so strange to me...

"You make me feel happiness Isabella Swan. You make me feel whole. And you've shown me what it means to fall in love," Edward explained, keeping his hand softly against my cheek as he began to slowly move his lips towards mine.

Did he just admit that he loves me? How could he love me? And to think that he felt the same way that I did. It was unbelievable. I'd never actually loved someone, besides Emmett, but Edward... I was in love with Edward Cullen. I'd never admitted it to myself before but now I could because I knew now that he loved me back.

Slowly, his lips touched mine and we began kissing softly but passionately. He seemed a little more practiced than I was but it was normal for him. Any girl would be lucky to have him and I guess that I was that lucky girl now. The passion behind that kiss surprised me but it felt absolutely wonderful, almost natural for some odd reason. Edward never moved his hand away from my cheek. It was always there, just softly resting against my cheek as if he didn't want to move it. And I don't think that I wanted him to move it.

My left hand slowly moved to his neck, moving it gently across his skin until it found his nape and rested itself gently there. His fingers began to slowly wound into my hair as our kiss continued. No one made any attempt at deepening it for the time being. We were both simply enjoying our time together. But we both needed to breathe at a certain point so after a few seconds, we separated and looked into each others' eyes, never moving our hands from each others' skin.

"Wow... That was..." I was at a lost for words. How to describe what had just happened? It was very much unexpected but there was another word that I wanted to use to describe it but what was it?

"Fantastic?" Edward asked, taking the word right out of my mouth.

A smile came to my face as I looked deeply into his eyes. "Exactly. It was fantastic."

He placed his lips softly against my forehead, slowly making me close my eyes, and kissed it with gentlest of touches, making my heart beat at an unnatural rate. "I love you Bella. I have since the moment I laid eyes on you in the streets, and even more in the dungeons, and I realize that I haven't said it as of yet but I want you to know that you are everything to me now, which is mostly the reason why I wanted you to stay here with me," Edward said as he slowly brought his arms around me and brought me closer to his warm chest. I had never been in his arms, which meant that I never could have touched his muscular chest-which was something that he probably had to work hard to get in training.

Closing my eyes slowly, I placed my hand against his chest and leaned into him, hoping that he wouldn't take this gesture the wrong way. "You liked the fact that I was a mess in that dungeon?" I asked, a small smile forming on my lips.  
I could feel his chest rumble a little as he chuckled with glee. "Yes, I begs liking you even when you, as you put it, were a mess. But I only saw beauty under those filthy clothes. I saw you for you," Edward explained, making my heart leap at his words. No one had ever told me things like this. It felt so nice, so warm. I never wanted to move from this spot, never move from Edward's strong arms.

"I love you too Edward," I said, feeling him wrap his arms a little tighter around me as he leaned back against a pillar and stayed like this for quote some time.

After all this time of wondering if he even liked me, Edward finally admitted that he loved me as much as I loved him. Everything felt complete now, as if nothing could destroy this. Everything felt right. Whole.

**Jacob's Point of View**

I had just turned the corner of the garden and laid eyes on Edward and Bella. They seemed to be talking about something important and good because Bella's face lit up with happiness as she smiled at him. Her smile always made my heart warm. It was so beautiful, just like her. But why was he making her smile that way? What could he offer her that I couldn't? Just because he was actually a prince and next in line for the throne didn't mean anything. I could make her laugh, I could make her smile if she gave me the chance.

At first my impression of the two of them was that they were simply talking but as he began cupping her cheek and leaning his face towards hers, my blood began to boil. How dare he try to kiss her? What if she didn't want to kiss him back? She would be repulsed by him now and she could come to me to talk about it.

But what repulsed me the most was that she kissed him back! Like she wanted to for some time now! How could this happen? I thought that I actually had a shot with her. From that first time that we talked in the training room, it seemed as though she might like me as well with time. Maybe I should have spoken to her more often in the past few days... It might have made my chances of winning her even stronger. Now, HE was stepping all over her and kissing her. How dare he! He had no right to do that at all without her consent first! It was simply proper manner.

I began to walk away from them as they began hugging and talking once again, unable to watch this anymore. I was absolutely fuming with rage at the moment that anyone who would come up to me would feel my small wrath. I felt that she could be so much happier with me that it made me even angrier. She wasn't trying to find someone else. It was as if she only wanted him, the one that put her in the dungeons and hurt her physically. What if he would do it again? She couldn't trust him. But she could trust me in time. I know she could.

Unfortunately I ran into my stepfather as I turned a corner. He immediately saw my anger facade and looked worried for some reason. "What's the matter son? What seems to be troubling you?" He asked sincerely.

"It's nothing for you to concern yourself stepfather," I said, trying to step aside from him but he grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

Looking at him, James seemed to be giving me a sincerely concerned look as he spoke. "It must be something important if it has you troubled as you are. Why not tell me so you can get it off your chest? It helps quite a lot, I assure you," He proposed, hoping that I would talk to him. And so, I sighed and told him the story of what I had just seen in the garden. He seemed to be quite interested in my small story and hooked onto my every word. He never was like this... It was quite bizarre for him but it wasn't my right to question him. " Hm... It seems that you are quite smitten with this Bella person. And you are jealous of Prince Edward, correct?" He asked, trying to get to the bottom of my jealous dilemma.

"You could say that. I just feel that she could give me a chance as well. I feel that he only has a few weeks head start on me that, if she had known me longer, then she could learn to love me as well," I explained, my tone rising a little. Looking back at my stepfather, I sighed and apologized. "I'm sorry stepfather for raising my voice at you."

"It's quite alright son. You needn't worry. But there is a way that you could win her and have her be yours, if you would like. You do not need to let her trouble you this way, especially because of Prince Edward. You should have the right to infatuate her as well," James explained, keeping his voice stable but putting force behind his words. He really wanted to be helpful in this situation but why? What were his intentions? "You can trust me, son. She will be yours before you know it."

"How can you promise such a thing stepfather? What do you plan on doing, exactly?" I asked, crossing my arms over one another and resting them against my chest, never breaking eye contact with him.

But my stepfather only smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder, leaning his face just a little closer to mine. "Just leave everything to me son. She'll be yours soon," James whispered and it only made my skin crawl.

What exactly were his plans?

**Alright so after nearly a month without a chapter, what did you guys think? Good? Bad? Could be better? Let me know in some REVIEWS please! I'll try to get the next chapter in quicker. **

**Bellacullenswan17**

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